Featured photo via AP, by Mark Humphrey
Story by Mark Manning
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As the presidential election dominates headlines, Tennessee’s Senate race remains in the shadows. Many voters don’t know whom to vote for.
According to a poll from The Beacon Center of Tennessee, 45% of Democratic voters are still unsure which candidate will receive their vote. In the Tennessee Democratic Senate primary, three candidates are running: Rep. Gloria Johnson, Marquita Bradshaw and Civil Miller-Watkins.
“Voters’ attention span will be shaped by whether the Senate race and local elections are competitive,” said MTSU political science professor Sekou Franklin.
Rep. Johnson leads the pack in fundraising, with around $2.3 million raised. Johnson was part of the “Tennessee 3,” having faced expulsion for protesting gun regulations in the Tennessee Capitol after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville.
Marquita Bradshaw, a 2020 Senate nominee, is an environmentalist and activist. She was the first African-American woman to win a major political party nomination in any Tennessee race. Her political organization, “Sowing Justice,” aims to increase civic engagement in disenfranchised communities experiencing environmental injustice.
Civil Miller-Watkins, a former member of the Fayette County Public School Board, seeks to represent the needs of rural Tennesseans who lack access to healthcare and face “kitchen table issues.”
Franklin said the Democratic nominee must raise significant funds and make inroads with voters in rural communities — particularly in West and Middle Tennessee — to win the election.
Tennessee has not elected a Democratic senator since 1995.
“In competitive elections, there is more money and resources dedicated to the mobilization of voters, all of which enhance voters’ attention to the elections,” said Franklin. “With months until the elections, there is still time to shift the tides one way or another.”
The primary election will be held on Aug. 1, 2024, and the general election will be Nov. 5, 2024.
Mark Manning is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact News Editor Alyssa Williams and Assistant News Editor Zoe Naylor, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
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