Democrats seek return to relevance in Tennessee politics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – For a party once accustomed to dominating state politics, the outlook for Tennessee Democrats is bleak.
Over the last decade, Democrats went from controlling all three branches of state government to giving up GOP supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature, losing two governor’s races by wide margins and watching as the state Supreme Court appointed the first Republican attorney general since Reconstruction.
The heavy erosion of Democratic power has left them with little sway at the Capitol and looking for a path toward regaining relevance.
Among the available strategies are campaigning on the defeat of Insure Tennessee; exploiting infighting during GOP primaries; focusing on women and minorities; and building out of urban strongholds into the suburbs.
But Republicans are also looking to expand on their gains.
