Nicolas Sutton was hit with multiple life sentences for killing three people, including his own grandmother. Then he received a death sentence for killing a child rapist while serving time in jail.
Sutton is scheduled to be killed via the electric chair on Thursday, and his clemency petition was rejected by the governor of Tennessee.
Correctional officers are asking for Sutton to be spared due to his transformational and apparently life-saving behavior in prison, pleading that the criminal serve out his life sentences and eventually die without being killed by the state. According to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nicholas-sutton-death-row-execution-petition-tennessee-2020-02-19/">CBS News</a>, Sutton&#8217;s victims&#8217; families don&#8217;t want him on death row, either.
A <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1G4TctOlHtmYld5VTNFSEdVUEtSOVB4ZTV0WVROTVFvb2NR/view">petition</a> for Sutton&#8217;s clemency, dated January 14, starts: &#8220;Nick Sutton has gone from a life-taker to a life-saver. Five Tennesseans, including three prison staff members, owe their lives to him. The support of his victims&#8217; families, correction staff, jurors and those whose lives he&#8217;s saved attest that a life sentence meets the imperatives of justice and mercy.&#8221;
Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied Sutton&#8217;s clemency petition on Wednesday.
“After careful consideration of Nicholas Sutton’s request for clemency and a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and will not be intervening,&#8221; reads a <a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2020/2/19/statement-from-gov--bill-lee-on-nicholas-sutton.html">statement</a> from Governor Lee.
However, as noted by CBS, &#8220;A final decision can be handed down until the minute Sutton sits in the electric chair.&#8221;
&#8220;Sutton, 58, was convicted of killing four people, including his grandmother Dorothy Sutton, his high school friend John Large, and Charles Almon,&#8221; <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2020/02/19/tennessee-execution-gov-bill-lee-nicholas-todd-sutton/4794172002/">Knox News</a> outlined. &#8220;He was sentenced to death for his involvement in the stabbing and killing of fellow inmate Carl Estep in 1985.&#8221; Estep, according to the outlet, was a convicted &#8220;child rapist.&#8221;
Former corrections officer Tony Eden credits Sutton with saving his life during the 1985 riots at the Tennessee State Prison.
&#8220;I have four boys and a girl now who probably wouldn&#8217;t be here if that day turned out differently,&#8221; Eden told CBS News. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have the life I have today if it weren&#8217;t for Nick.&#8221;
The former corrections officer says Sutton could have asked to cash in a favor after saving his life, though he never did, except for when Sutton asked him to be his best man.
&#8220;He asked me to be the best man in his wedding,&#8221; recalled Eden. &#8220;That&#8217;s the only thing he ever asked for that I know of. And all he wanted was just for me to stand there.&#8221;
&#8220;The eldest daughter of the inmate Sutton killed has joined the effort to spare his life,&#8221; CBS reported. &#8220;In a clemency petition filed on January 14, she advocates against the execution, saying &#8216;the pain and suffering her family has endured would only be made worse&#8217; if Sutton was killed.&#8221;
Attorney for Sutton, Kevin Sharp, argued that folks like Sutton keep jails safer.
&#8220;You need people like Nick who make the place safer,&#8221; Sharp told CBS. &#8220;He&#8217;s not getting out, all we&#8217;re asking for is the governor commute his execution. He would still die in prison, just not by the electric chair.&#8221;
&#8220;He has saved the lives of three corrections officials during his incarceration; his request for clemency was supported by seven former and current Tennessee correction professionals, family members of victims, five of the original jurors and others,&#8221; Sharp added, according to <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/02/19/Tennessee-governor-denies-clemency-for-death-row-inmate/1541581729216/">UPI</a>.

Nicholas Sutton

Man Who Killed Child Rapist In Jail Scheduled To Be Executed Thursday

Prison

Tennessee

In videos first posted by LifeNews, female pro-life sidewalk counselors and activists are seen harassed and forcibly pushed around by pro-abortion activists outside an abortion clinic in Bristol, Tennessee.
Holding a sign with an image of an aborted baby, a pro-life woman is confronted by a pro-abortion activist who repeatedly pushes against the woman&#8217;s sign and brags that the cops will not help her. Another activist ridiculed a pro-life woman who was offering to adopt children who are spared by abortion; the pro-abort called the pro-lifer a &#8220;childless b****&#8221; and told her that she&#8217;ll &#8220;never&#8221; have a baby in her empty womb.
&#8220;Stop pushing on my sign,&#8221; the pro-lifer tells the abortion activist in a video provided to <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2019/09/19/videos-show-abortion-activists-kicking-shoving-and-harassing-peaceful-pro-lifers/">LifeNews</a> by A Cause for Christ president Sammi Cooper. The incident took place in August.
The pro-abort taunts the woman for being powerless against the harassment and intimidation, daring her to call the cops. &#8220;You know what they’ll do? Nothing,&#8221; she boasts.
The harassment of pro-life activists outside the abortion facility, according to provided video footage, appears to be persistent since at least August. A Cause for Christ activist Erika Schanzenbach told LifeNews the organization has witnessed &#8220;increasingly nasty behavior from the pro-abortion protesters in the past few months.&#8221;
&#8220;My hope is that God will be glorified as we work to bring the light of His truth to that very dark place. These little ones are my most helpless neighbors, so I go to stand and speak for them,&#8221; said Schanzenbach.
Both Cooper and Schanzenbach told the outlet that activists have been harassed, spat on, cursed at, and followed to their vehicles, but local law enforcement has been missing in action.
Life News&#8217; <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2019/09/19/videos-show-abortion-activists-kicking-shoving-and-harassing-peaceful-pro-lifers/">Micaiah Bilger</a> reported further on the video footage:
<blockquote>At two separate points, the woman attempts to walk away, but the pro-abortion escort follows her closely and then begins pushing against the sign again. Later, the pro-abortion escort appears to shove and kick the sign while the woman holds it.
&#8220;Stop kicking my sign!&#8221; the woman says.
The pro-abortion escort smiles mockingly and replies: &#8220;What are you going to do about it? You can’t do anything about it.&#8221;
The video also captured a nasty comment from another abortion activist who mocked a supposedly infertile couple standing on the sidewalk offering to adopt a child.
&#8220;You childless b****!&#8221; the activist can be heard saying. &#8220;Absolutely nothing in your womb and nothing ever gonna be in your womb.&#8221;</blockquote>
WATCH:
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In another captured instance of pro-abortion harassment, a sidewalk counselor is again taunted, mocked, and pushed. Bilger reported:
<blockquote>The protester then mocks the woman after admitting to touching her: &#8220;I touched your sign. I didn’t touch you. Is that going to hold up in court? She touched my sign, judge! She touched my sign!&#8221;
&#8220;You’re physically shoving my body,&#8221; the woman replies.
&#8220;Well, take me to court,&#8221; the protester yells in the woman’s face.
&#8220;Don’t spit on me,&#8221; the woman responds as the escort continues to yell.
After the woman calls the police, the pro-abortion protester tells her the police will not do anything. &#8220;Have they ever done anything about it? No … and the cops aren’t going to tell me to back off either. There’s no personal space law.&#8221;</blockquote>
WATCH:
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Pro-Abortion Protest

WATCH: Pro-Aborts Harass, Push Pro-Life Activists: Call Woman ‘Childless B****,’ Brag Cops Won’t Help Them

Abortion

Feminism

Free Speech

Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams still won&#8217;t concede the election, which has been over for four months. She also appears to be plotting some kind of revenge for her loss.
Abrams was giving a lecture at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, on Tuesday when she yet again refused to concede. A reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/the-jolt-opposition-airport-takeover-could-cost-delta-tax-break/vznTYhu5k5feHLPhkZ2JhM/">was at the event</a> and seems to be the only outlet reporting Abrams&#8217; quote about revenge.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t concede that I lost. I acknowledge that I&#8217;m not the governor of Georgia,&#8221; Abrams reportedly said. &#8220;That&#8217;s made plain every day I don&#8217;t walk into the Governor&#8217;s Mansion.&#8221;
She then discussed what happened between the time she lost the election and 10 days later &#8212; when she gave a speech where she refused to concede. She reportedly told the crowd, yet again, that Gov. Brian Kemp abused his power (he was the Georgia secretary of state while running for governor) to suppress votes &#8212; a claim that has been repeatedly debunked. In reality, voter participation has doubled since Georgia&#8217;s 2014 gubernatorial election.
&#8220;I upend the tradition of politics where you&#8217;re supposed to be genteel, say everything is fine. I didn&#8217;t do that,&#8221; Abrams told her audience.
&#8220;I could fight just to fight, but the minute it becomes about me, it becomes a vanity project. &#8230; That can&#8217;t be the reason you do things. And I spent that 10-day period plotting. Revenge can be very cathartic,&#8221; she added.
Abrams wouldn&#8217;t say at the event what her next plans were &#8212; whether she planned to run for president or the U.S. senate &#8212; but she did reveal two things she required for meeting with any potential Democrat presidential candidate:
<blockquote>
One, you have to tell me what you&#8217;re going to do about voter suppression. And two, you have to believe Georgia is a swing state.
</blockquote>
Abrams filed a federal lawsuit claiming Georgia election officials &#8220;grossly mismanaged&#8221; the gubernatorial election, suppressing the votes of low-income voters and people of color. The suit is still in the courts, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/b38c2c2aacb347618d315c7a306d37fe">according to the Associated Press</a>.
Abrams also suggested people vote against anyone who tries to suppress voters (which, according to her and other Democrats, means requiring a person to prove who they are before voting).
&#8220;I&#8217;m still sad, still angry, but I&#8217;m less bitter than I was. That has to be channeled into action, and that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m trying to do,&#8221; she told the audience.
Her lecture was part of an annual series. Last week, former President George W. Bush spoke, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/03/20/stacey-abrams-vanderbilt-university-georgia-lecture-series-voter-suppression/3216535002/">according to the Tennessean</a>, but the event was close to the press.
Abrams is one of two 2018 Democrats who lost their elections but refuse to concede. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who lost his bid for Florida governor, recently told &#8220;Real Time&#8221; host Bill Maher that <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/03/20/stacey-abrams-vanderbilt-university-georgia-lecture-series-voter-suppression/3216535002/">some votes were not counted</a>, and if they were, the outcome might have changed.
&#8220;Had we been able to legally count every one of those votes not just in Florida but in Georgia, I wonder what the outcome may be,&#8221; Gillum said.

Stacey Abrams Says She Spent Days After Election Loss Plotting: ‘Revenge Can Be Very Cathartic’

Andrew Gillum

Democratic Party

Stacey Abrams

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee introduced her first bill in the Senate. The proposed law, S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, is a counterpart to a similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives. The legislation seeks to deny funding to abortion organizations, including Planned Parenthood. 
The freshman senator made the announcement in a statement on <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1083499955686440960">Twitter</a>. 
&#8220;Today, I introduced my first bill in the United States Senate, S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which strips all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, of federal funding,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Tennesseans and the American people do not want their tax dollars funding abortions. They have made this position clear time and again. Hardworking taxpayers do not want to subsidize the business of abortion providers and entities such as Planned Parenthood.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Today, I introduced my first bill in the United States Senate, S. 105, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which strips all abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, of federal funding. <a href="https://t.co/UwtbwGt1wd">pic.twitter.com/UwtbwGt1wd</a>
&#8212; Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1083499955686440960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
The <a href="http://tennesseestar.com/2019/01/11/u-s-sen-blackburn-introduces-first-bill-as-senator-to-protect-the-unborn/">Tennessee Star</a> reports that Blackburn introduced her bill last Thursday one day after U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-04) introduced H.R. 217 Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6).
If passed, the legislation &#8220;amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) to provide federal family planning grants only to entities that certify that, during the period of the grant, they will not perform abortions or provide funds to entities that perform abortions.&#8221; It makes exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. The Senate version would also increase funding for &#8220;Community Health Centers&#8221; aimed at giving women an alternative to abortion. 
The National Right To Life organization praised the bill. NRL Legislative Director Jennifer Popik told <a href="https://www.lifenews.com/2019/01/10/senator-introduces-new-bill-to-defund-planned-parenthood-abortion-business/">LifeNews</a>, &#8220;Most Democrats in Congress think Planned Parenthood can do no wrong. Congresswoman Hartzler knows better and we thank her for her leadership in working to defund America&#8217;s largest abortion provider.&#8221;
She added in a <a href="https://www.nrlc.org/site/communications/releases/2019/national-right-to-life-praises-blackburn-bill-to-defund-planned-parenthood/">statement</a>, &#8220;We applaud Senator Blackburn for her long history of protecting unborn children while in the U.S. House and look forward to her continued leadership in the Senate.&#8221;
Sen. Blackburn has been a strong supporter of Pro-Life causes. During her 2018 campaign, she was endorsed by several Pro-Life organizations, including the Senate Pro-Life Coalition, National Right to Life, the Knox County Pro-Life Network, and the Susan B. Anthony List. 
She said at the <a href="http://tennesseestar.com/2018/08/03/marsha-blackburn-announces-pro-life-coalition/">time</a>, &#8220;The first of our rights is the right to life. It is both my duty and honor to protect life, and I am honored to have such a committed group of Tennesseans supporting my campaign for Senate. In the Senate, I will continue to stand for the sanctity of life and the protection of women and unborn children.&#8221;
She would go on to defeat Democratic former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the midterm election, despite Bredesen receiving high-profile endorsements, including by popstar Taylor Swift. Blackburn&#8217;s victory made her the first female senator elected in the state. 
Planned Parenthood and its affiliates receive $543.7 million, nearly 40% of its budget, from federal, state, and local grants paid for by taxpayer dollars. 
<div> </div>

Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s First Senate Bill Could Defund Planned Parenthood

Conservatism

Planned Parenthood

Republican Party

Taylor Swift

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

On Monday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a seventh-generation Tennessean, announced he would retire from the senate and not seek reelection in 2020. Alexander&#8217;s statement is likely to trigger a fierce competition in the GOP primary, as Tennessee is a solidly Republican state.
Alexander&#8217;s statement read:
<blockquote>
I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United States Senate in 2020. The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as Governor and Senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege. I have gotten up every day thinking that I could help make our state and country a little better, and gone to bed most nights thinking that I have. I will continue to serve with that same spirit during the remaining two years of my term.&#8221;
</blockquote>
Alexander is the only person to be elected in Tennessee as both a governor and a senator; his 2008 general election vote total of 1,579,477 is the largest ever received by a statewide candidate.
As his <a href="https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&amp;id=D00D0EED-BC1F-439E-9E5C-B9210FCB5DF2">website</a> notes:
<blockquote>
He authored opioids legislation signed into law in October which President Trump called &#8220;the single largest bill to combat a drug crisis in the history of our country.&#8221; In 2016, he wrote the &#8220;21st Century Cures Act,&#8221; which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called &#8220;the most important law of this Congress.&#8221; In 2015, Alexander authored the &#8220;Every Student Succeeds Act,&#8221; fixing &#8220;No Child Left Behind.&#8221; &#8230; the Wall Street Journal said it was the &#8220;largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter century.&#8221;
</blockquote>
In 1978, when he was running for governor, Alexander walked from Mountain City the far northeast of the state to Memphis, a distance of 1,022 miles wearing a red and black flannel shirt; that shirt became identified with him.
Alexander has served as president of the University of Tennessee and U.S. Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush. According to <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/lamar-alexander/">fivethirtyeight.com,</a> Alexander has voted in line with President Trump&#8217;s position 93.7% of the time. Alexander differed from Trump, voting for a nonbinding motion calling for congressional approval of national security tariffs. Alexander also voted to impose sanctions on Russia in June 2017, which Trump opposed at the time, and opposed repealing parts of Obamacare, which Trump favored. That vote came in July 2017.
Speculation as to who will succeed Alexander immediately erupted. As political analyst and University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato, pointed out, a plethora of candidates for Alexander&#8217;s seat is expected to emerge. Sabato tweeted, &#8220;Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) retiring, seat up 2020. Hope springs eternal for Dems, but the early rating for Crystal Ball is Safe R. I asked good source: Which Rs are running now? Answer: &#8216;Everyone I know.&#8217;&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) retiring, seat up 2020. Hope springs eternal for Dems, but the early rating for Crystal Ball is Safe R. I asked good source: Which Rs are running now? Answer: &#8220;Everyone I know.&#8221;
&#8212; Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) <a href="https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1074715460392902659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
One rumor suggested former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, who starred at the University of Tennessee, with one Tennessee representative apparently throwing out Manning&#8217;s name.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
one Tennessee Rep. speculated to me that Peyton Manning would run for this seat if Alexander retires <a href="https://t.co/6H9td93DrH">https://t.co/6H9td93DrH</a>
&#8212; Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoePerticone/status/1074715113100378112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

Senate Seat At Risk: Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander Says He Won’t Run For Reelection

In the last few days before the &#8220;most important midterm elections in history,&#8221; pollsters and analysts began to backpedal on their predictions about the much-hyped Blue Wave, which turned out to be merely a solid win in the House and a true Blue Wipe-out in the Senate. On Monday, Politico provided some quotes from pollsters warning the public that &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38016/not-normal-election-have-pollsters-failed-account-james-barrett">this is no normal election</a>&#8221; and suggesting that many of the polls might&#8217;ve failed to calibrate for some unprecedented factors, including a &#8220;staggering&#8221; early voting turnout and a surge in &#8220;non-usual&#8221; voters.
So, with the dust settling, how did pollsters do in some of the key races? In short, they generally underestimated Republican support, again.
After crunching all the most recent polling data, Nate Silver&#8217;s FiveThirtyEight predicted on election morning that Republicans would end up with <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/senate/?ex_cid=midterms-header">52 seats</a> in the Senate and Democrats would most likely secure <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/">234</a><a href="http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/"> seats</a>. Both estimates appear to err slightly on the side of Democrats. Republicans are currently poised to end up with 53 and possibly even 54 seats, depending on how Arizona and Colorado shake out (Republicans currently have a slight edge in both with 99% and 84% reporting, respectively). Democrats did make major gains in the House, but appear likely to fall short of Silver&#8217;s prediction.
More notable than the overall number of seat wins and losses is the percentages by which Republicans defeated Democrats in some key races, particularly in the &#8220;toss-up&#8221; Senate and gubernatorial races, which garnered the most national attention. Below is a comparison of some of the polling predictions vs. the electoral results in some key Senate and gubernatorial races.
Florida Governor Race
A vast majority of the polls predicted that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum would win by anywhere from 4 to 7 points over Republican Ron DeSantis. Election morning, <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/governor/fl/florida_governor_desantis_vs_gillum-6518.html">Real Clear Politics</a>&#8216; average of the key polls showed Gillum ahead of DeSantis by 3.6 points. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38061/obama-backed-rising-star-democrat-falls-trump-james-barrett">reports</a>:
<blockquote>
Quinnipiac&#8217;s poll of 1,142 likely voters (conducted 10/29-11/4) gave Gillum a comfortable 7-point advantage. A HarrisX poll of 1,400 likely voters conducted over the same period found Gillum leading by 4 points. An Emerson poll of 748 likely voters (conducted 11/1-3) gave the Democrat a 5-point edge, as did St. Pete Polls&#8217; survey of 3,088 likely voters (conducted 11/3-4). Only one of the polls factored into Real Clear Politics&#8217; average gave DeSantis an advantage: Republican polling firm Trafalgar Group polled 1,484 likely voters during the final two days before the election and found DeSantis with a 3-point lead.
</blockquote>
Gillum ended up losing by 1 point to DeSantis. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/fl">NBC News</a> lists the current vote count at 99% reporting, DeSantis earning 4,052,246 and Gillum garnering 3,996,906, a 55,340-vote difference.
Florida Senate Race
According to pollsters, incumbent Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson was supposed to defeat Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Real Clear Politics&#8217; final average gave Nelson a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/fl/florida_senate_scott_vs_nelson-6246.html">2.4%</a> lead over Scott, with polls showing him leading by anywhere from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38048/election-night-key-senate-races-all-latest-results-james-barrett">2 to 7 points</a>: &#8220;Quinnipiac&#8217;s final poll showed Nelson up by 7 points; HarrisX found Scott leading by 2; Emerson gave Nelson a 5-point advantage; St. Pete Polls gave the incumbent a 4-point lead; and Trafalgar Group showed Scott with a slim 2-point edge.&#8221;
But, as with the Gillum-DeSantis contest, the Republican Trafalgar Group ended up being the only one that got the apparent victor correct. With 99% reporting and Scott beating Nelson <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2018/senate/">50.2 &#8211; 49.8</a>, Scott has declared victory.
Indiana Senate Race
Sen. Joe Donnelly was another incumbent Democrat that most pollsters believed would defeat Republican challenger Mike Braun, and by as much as 7 points: &#8220;Real Clear Politics&#8217; final <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/in/indiana_senate_braun_vs_donnelly-6573.html">average</a> gave him a slim 1.3% advantage over Republican Mike Braun. The final poll by CBS News/YouGov found Braun up by 3 points; NBC News/Marist found Donnelly leading by 2 points; Fox News found Donnelly ahead by 7 points; and the most recent poll, by HarrisX, found Braun with a razor-thin 1-point edge.&#8221;
Braun has been declared the winner by a sizable margin. With 93% reporting, Braun leads Donnelly by around 10 points, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/in">52.9 &#8211; 43</a>.
Missouri Senate Race
While some pollsters did end up giving Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley an edge over incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, only Trafalgar Group (again) got close to predicting his significant 6-point margin. With 99% reporting, Hawley leads McCaskill by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/mo">51.5 &#8211; 45.5</a>.
RCP&#8217;s <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/mo/missouri_senate_hawley_vs_mccaskill-6280.html">final average</a> gave Hawley a razor-thin 0.6% edge, with three of the six most recent polls showing them tied, NBC News/Marist giving McCaskill a 3-point lead, Trafalgar Group showing Hawley up by 4, and Emerson giving him a 3-point advantage.
Montana Senate Race
With 95% reporting, Republican Matt Rosendale leads incumbent Democrat Jon Tester <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/mt">48.8 &#8211; 48.3</a>. On election morning, RCP gave Tester a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/mt/montana_senate_rosendale_vs_tester-6306.html">3.3-point</a> advantage: &#8220;Gravis&#8217;s final poll gave Tester a 3-point lead; HarrisX gave him a 6-point lead; and Trafalgar Group gave him just a 1-point edge over Rosendale.&#8221; Once again, Trafalgar Group got the closest.
Tennessee Senate Race
While most pollsters accurately predicted Republican Marsha Blackburn would defeat Democrat Phil Bredesen (despite Taylor Swift&#8217;s endorsement), all of them underestimated the size of the victory. With 99% reporting, Blackburn leads Bredesen by about 11 points, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/tn">54.7 &#8211; 43.9.</a> On election morning, RCP gave her a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tn/tennessee_senate_blackburn_vs_bredesen-6308.html">5.2-point</a> advantage, with CNN showing her ahead by 4, Fox News by 9, and Emerson by 8.
North Dakota Senate Race
Similar to the Tennessee race, pollsters likewise correctly gave Republican Kevin Cramer the advantage over incumbent Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, but underestimated the size of his victory. RCP&#8217;s final average was a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/nd/north_dakota_senate_cramer_vs_heitkamp-6485.html">9-point</a> lead for Cramer, with both Trafalgar Group and Fox News showing him the same advantage. With 99% reporting, Cramer holds an 11-point lead over Heitkamp, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/nd">55.4 &#8211; 44.6</a>.
West Virginia Senate Race 
As with the Tennessee race, pollsters slightly underestimated Republican support in the contest between incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Patrick Morissey. Manchin won by 3.2 points, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-west-virginia-elections.html">49.5 &#8211; 46.3</a>. On election morning, RCP gave Manchin a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/wv/west_virginia_senate_morrisey_vs_manchin-6258.html">5-point</a> lead by average, both MetroNews and Emerson giving him that same advantage.
Not all of the polling data underestimated Republicans; in a few races, pollsters missed the mark going the other direction. Democrat Jacky Rosen defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller by over 3 points, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/nv">49.7 &#8211; 46</a>, in the Nevada Senate race. Polling data showed the two <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/nv/nevada_senate_heller_vs_rosen-6304.html">tied</a> on the morning of the election. Likewise, incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was supposed to skate to victory in the Texas Senate race, polling data giving him a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tx/texas_senate_cruz_vs_orourke-6310.html">6.8-point</a> lead heading into the election. He ended up only winning by only about 2.6 points, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/tx">50.9 &#8211; 48.3</a>.

So How Did The Pollsters Do? They Underestimated Republicans, Again.

Florida

Montana

Nevada

North Dakota

Texas

Pop superstar Taylor Swift&#8217;s endorsement of a Democratic Senate candidate in Tennessee didn&#8217;t amount to much.
Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn was called as the winner just a few minutes after polls closed, easily defeating HER Democratic opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Before the election, the 28-year-old singer &#8212; who had not previously weighed in on politics &#8212; said Blackburn had a voting record that &#8220;appalls and terrifies&#8221; her.
The move may not have been all that well thought out. Bredesen angered Democrats and rabid liberals by announcing that he would have supported Brett Kavanaugh&#8217;s nomination for the Supreme Court, declaring that there was no evidence to support last-minute sexual assault allegations against him.
The hardcore left MoveOn immediately pulled its support after Bredesen&#8217;s announcement. &#8220;We&#8217;re cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court,&#8221; MoveOn.org wrote on Twitter.
In a lengthy post on Instagram about a month before the election, Swift said she could not support Blackburn because of her record of voting against women and the LGBT community.
&#8220;Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. These are not MY Tennessee values. &#8230; I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent,&#8221; she wrote.
Just before Election Day, Swift pleaded with fans to vote, saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m seeing a lot of underestimation of young voters and this new generation who now have the right to vote just in the last couple of years, but these are people who grew up post 9/11, they grew up with school shooting drills at their schools.&#8221;

SHOCKER: Even Taylor Swift Can’t Elect A Democrat In Tennessee

2018 Election

It&#8217;s election time, which means the Left is out in full force trying to tell us people are too stupid or lazy to figure out how to vote.
Some people may be too lazy, but Americans are not stupid, and can figure out how to follow the law in order to vote. But here comes Vice attempting to prove Voter ID laws disenfranchise voters, but the report&#8217;s author makes it clear he wanted to vote without following simple state laws.
Tennessee law requires someone wanting to vote to provide either state or federally issued photo identification. And by state, I mean &#8220;state of Tennessee,&#8221; in case that wasn&#8217;t clear, because it apparently wasn&#8217;t clear to Davis Winkie, who claimed recently in Vice that despite having a &#8220;valid driver&#8217;s license&#8221; a student ID card, a voter registration card, his birth certificate, utility bills, and a copy of his lease, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8xjwmp/what-it-feels-like-to-be-disenfranchised-by-a-voter-id-law?utm_source=vicetwitterus">he wasn&#8217;t allowed to vote</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I had my: 
&#8226; valid driver&#8217;s license 
&#8226; student ID 
&#8226; voter registration card 
&#8226; a copy of my birth certificate 
&#8226; my lease
and that still wasn&#8217;t enough. I couldn&#8217;t vote. <a href="https://t.co/GOUQlFWlRe">https://t.co/GOUQlFWlRe</a>
&#8212; VICE (@VICE) <a href="https://twitter.com/VICE/status/1058092210544148481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Again, Tennessee requires a state or federally issued photo ID to vote. None of that other stuff matters, and these laws were passed in 2013 (a year before Winkie and his wife moved to the state) and are advertised heavily.
The state also lists what counts as valid ID: an up-to-date or even expired state driver&#8217;s license, a U.S. passport, or a military ID. Tennessee also provides a free Department of Safety and Homeland Security-issued photo ID at state DMVs.
Winkie had none of those things. He had a Georgia driver&#8217;s license and refused to change that or his residency to Tennessee until a month before the 2016 election. He <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2016/11/04/how-tennessees-voter-id-law-silenced-me/93283838/">wrote about his problem with voting back in 2016 as well</a>, and at the time said he and his wife &#8220;planned to maintain our voter registration and residency at my parents&#8217; home, our permanent address in Georgia, so I kept my Georgia driver&#8217;s license when moving to Tennessee. &#8230; we also continued to pay Georgia state income tax.&#8221;
So, he didn&#8217;t want to vote in Tennessee or even be a real resident until a month before the election. He and his wife only decided to &#8220;become residents of Tennessee&#8221; because his parents moved.
He claimed they registered to vote in Davidson County and received voter registration cards, but this was impossible, as my former Washington Examiner colleague Beckett Adams <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/vice-shocked-to-discover-student-id-and-a-copy-of-a-lease-dont-work-as-valid-voter-id-in-tennessee">wrote</a>. Tennessee didn&#8217;t implement an online voter registration system until 2017 &#8212; the year after the election Winkie wrote about.
Oh, and in an update to the original Vice article, Winkie &#8220;realized&#8221; that he registered to vote during a campus drive (he was attending Vanderbilt University at the time).
But Winkie wrote that he &#8220;felt&#8221; he had what was needed to prove he lived in Tennessee. &#8220;I had my valid Georgia driver&#8217;s license. I had my Vanderbilt University student ID. I even had my voter registration card, a couple of utility bills, my lease, and a copy of my birth certificate,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;I have doubts about the prevalence of in-person voting fraud and therefore the necessity of voter ID laws &#8212; but there are three reasonable components to test for: identity, citizenship, and residency, which I felt I was able to supply with everything I had with me.&#8221;
Yeah, that&#8217;s not how laws work.
As Adams pointed out, Winkie simply decided to become a resident of Tennessee without actually doing anything to become a resident.
&#8220;He didn&#8217;t register his vehicles in Tennessee and he didn&#8217;t apply for a driver&#8217;s license. He didn&#8217;t even apply for a free State-sponsored photo ID from one of Tennessee&#8217;s driver centers. The only effort he put into becoming a Tennesseean was when he supposedly registered online at the last possible moment to vote in the 2016 election. But even that is doubtful given it&#8217;d be another year before this was even an option for state residents,&#8221; Adams wrote. &#8220;Basically, he was a Georgian who decided suddenly he wanted to be a Tennessean and did nothing to make it happen. The Volunteer State didn&#8217;t accommodate his whims and he has been crying foul ever since.&#8221;
But yeah, voting is really hard.

Vice Writer Upset He Can’t Vote Without Following State Laws

Vice News

Voting Rights

Two new polls show Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn cementing her lead in her race for the Senate seat against Democrat former governor Phil Bredesen.
A new NBC/Marist poll, conducted between October 23 and October 27, shows Blackburn garnering 51% of likely voters, compared with 46% for Bredesen. Another poll, from <a href="https://poppolling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/TN-Statewide-Topline-Results-10.30.18.pdf">Vox Populi Polling</a>, conducted between October 27 and October 29, shows Blackburn grabbing 53% of the vote to Bredesen&#8217;s 47%.
As <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/10/30/marsha-blackburn-leads-phil-bredesen-two-new-polls-tennessee-us-senate-race/1822518002/">The Tennessean</a> points out, &#8220;Blackburn&#8217;s lead coincides with soaring popularity for President Donald Trump, who now has support of 56 percent of likely voters in the NBC/Marist poll, compared with 39 percent who don&#8217;t support his job performance. That&#8217;s compared with 47 percent who approved of the president and 43 percent who disagreed with him two months ago.&#8221;
Blackburn has reversed the candidates&#8217; status; an August NBC/Marist poll found Bredesen with a two-point lead; a Vox Populi poll conducted in September also showed Bredesen leading by 2 percentage points.
An NBC/Marist analysis stated, &#8220;The shift in Blackburn&#8217;s favor may be a dose of political reality for Bredesen in Tennessee, where President Donald Trump won by 26 points in 2016. The poll&#8217;s sample shows that 43 percent of likely voters identify as Republicans, while just 27 percent identify as Democrats.&#8221;
As The Tennessean notes, &#8220;Fifty-two percent of respondents in the NBC poll said they view Bredesen favorably compared with 39 percent who do not. That&#8217;s a 13-point difference between favorable and unfavorable marks, down from a 39-point spread in the previous poll. But in the Vox Populi poll, Blackburn now has higher favorability than Bredesen, 45 percent to 41 percent.&#8221;
Macy Cambio, Vox Populi Polling managing director, said, &#8220;In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn has rallied Republican voters to help solidify her base. With Phil Bredesen&#8217;s image now underwater and Blackburn opening up a seven-point lead, the chance of this seat flipping Democratic looks much slimmer than it did just one month ago.&#8221;
Over the weekend, Blackburn held a rally at which a moment of silence was held for the victims of the Pittsburgh massacre. Protesters disrupted the event, including one who cried out roughly two seconds into the moment of silence, &#8220;Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist.&#8221; Five protesters were removed from the rally.
Blackburn released a <a href="https://twitter.com/VoteMarsha/status/1056670335322517504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056670335322517504&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fangry-protesters-forcibly-removed-from-marsha-blackburn-lindsey-graham-rally">statement</a> later that read, &#8220;This Sunday afternoon, the liberal angry mob made it clear they are active in Tennessee and will stop at nothing to disrupt civil political discourse. I&#8217;m grateful to the law enforcement officers who were here today and kept everyone safe. The protestors at today&#8217;s event were absolutely appalling. They yelled &#8216;Impeach Trump.&#8217; They kicked. They punched. They resisted law enforcement, and they interrupted a moment of silence for the victims in Pittsburgh. Never in my life have I heard of people interrupting a moment of silence.&#8221;
Three polls taken on October showed Blackburn with a significant lead. A Fox News poll ending October 2 found Blackburn with a five-point lead; a CBS/YouGov poll ending October 5 gave her an eight-point lead, and a NY Times/Siena college poll ending October 11 gave her a fourteen-point lead. A Vanderbilt University poll ending on October 13 found Bredesen with a one-point lead.

New Polls Show Blackburn’s Lead Over Bredesen Looks Solid

Leftist protesters at a rally for Tennessee GOP senatorial candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn had to be removed from the event because of their disruption; one leftist woman even interrupted a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre on Saturday at a Pittsburgh synagogue, shouting, &#8220;Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist.&#8221; Five protesters were removed from the rally.
Blackburn, before observing the moment of silence for the victims, stated, &#8220;Let&#8217;s take a moment and remember those who lost their lives in Pittsburgh and express our gratitude for the law enforcement who responded so beautifully. A moment of silence.&#8221; Not more than two seconds into the silence, the leftist hurled the insult at Blackburn. That prompted the crowd to start chanting, &#8220;USA! USA!&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
One woman was just removed after heckling Blackburn during a moment of silence for the Pittsburgh victims. At least five tossed so far.
&#8212; Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryJGomez/status/1056640615562252289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Protester tussling w/police at Marsha Blackburn &amp; Lindsey Graham rally had to be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed in order to be removed. <a href="https://t.co/ACedW2xsUn">pic.twitter.com/ACedW2xsUn</a>
&#8212; Jason Donner (@jason_donner) <a href="https://twitter.com/jason_donner/status/1056648544688447489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Among the protesters were reportedly members of the Black Lives Matter movement:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Black Lives Matter protesters were just forcibly removed from the <a href="https://twitter.com/VoteMarsha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VoteMarsha</a> rally in Nashville <a href="https://t.co/tDgETLkUhD">pic.twitter.com/tDgETLkUhD</a>
&#8212; Addy Baird(@addysue) <a href="https://twitter.com/addysue/status/1056639665665662976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
On Saturday, Blackburn had tweeted, &#8220;My heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones during the horrific events at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Thank you to law enforcement who acted quickly to apprehend the shooter. These anti-Semitic acts of evil have no place in society &amp; I am praying for all those affected.&#8221;
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also appeared at the rally for Blackburn, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lindsey-graham-sees-cheers-protesters-at-blackburn-rally-in-tennessee">said</a>, &#8220;Judge me by my friends and the people that want to yell at me. The only people wanting to yell at me would turn the country into a mob. They don&#8217;t respect the presumption of innocence. They have a view of the government that would make us Venezuela. They have every right to their opinion; I guess they can yell and spit on you; I don&#8217;t think they have a right to do that by they exercised it that way. &#8230; It&#8217;s getting worse, because emotions are running high.&#8221;
After the rally, Blackburn released a <a href="https://twitter.com/VoteMarsha/status/1056670335322517504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056670335322517504&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fangry-protesters-forcibly-removed-from-marsha-blackburn-lindsey-graham-rally">statement</a>: &#8220;This Sunday afternoon, the liberal angry mob made it clear they are active in Tennessee and will stop at nothing to disrupt civil political discourse. I&#8217;m grateful to the law enforcement officers who were here today and kept everyone safe. The protestors at today&#8217;s event were absolutely appalling. They yelled &#8216;Impeach Trump.&#8217; They kicked. They punched. They resisted law enforcement, and they interrupted a moment of silence for the victims in Pittsburgh. Never in my life have I heard of people interrupting a moment of silence.
On Saturday, at an East Ridge, Tennessee rally, Blackburn <a href="https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2018/oct/28/blackburn-revs-republicans-east-ridge-rally/481947/">reminded the crowd</a> that if Bredesen were elected Senate Minority Leader chuck Schumer could become the Senate Majority Leader. She urged the crowd, &#8220;But when that blue wave they keep talking about gets out here to the state line, it is going to meet the great red wall. I&#8217;ve got to tell you, I don&#8217;t think Tennesseans are going to be the state that turns the U.S. Senate over to the Democrats.&#8221;
Blackburn had been locked in a very close race with former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011, between mid September and the beginning of October, as the two virtually <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tn/tennessee_senate_blackburn_vs_bredesen-6308.html">matched each other</a> in the RCP average for two weeks. But starting in October, Blackburn has seemingly pulled away; three polls taken on October showed Blackburn with a significant lead. A Fox News poll ending October 2 found Blackburn with a five-point lead; a CBS/YouGov poll ending October 5 gave her an eight-point lead, and a NY Times/Siena college poll ending October 11 gave her a fourteen-point lead. But a Vanderbilt University poll ending on October 13 found Bredesen with a one-point lead.
Video of protester screaming at Blackburn during moment of silence below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vmkUfKB7VoI" width="560"></iframe></div>

WATCH: Leftist Protester Yells At Marsha Blackburn During Moment Of Silence for Pittsburgh Synagogue Victims

Murder

Pittsburgh

Taylor Swift may have some sway with her 107 million followers on Instagram, but when it comes to her power to sway politics, yeah, not so much.
The 28-year-old singer jumped into the political fray last week when she declared that she opposes Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
&#8220;Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. These are not MY Tennessee values,&#8221; Swift wrote on Instagram. &#8220;I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country.&#8221;
Apparently, Swift has based her view mostly on LGBT rights. &#8220;I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG.&#8221;
Turns out no one cares about what she thinks.
A new poll finds that pop star Taylor Swift&#8217;s endorsement of Phil Bredesen in Tennessee&#8217;s Senate race has done little to move the dial in the Democrat&#8217;s direction.
A poll by Republican polling firm <a href="http://www.cygn.al/cygnal-poll-tn-us-senate-taylor-swift/">Cygnal</a> finds that 86% of those surveyed have not changed their minds despite Swift&#8217;s endorsement of Democrat Phil Bredesen. And yes, they know about what Swift said: 82% said they&#8217;d heard the reports about her endorsement.
&#8220;Millennial and Gen Z voters are highly aware of the endorsement of the Democrat, but it did little to move their vote preference,&#8221; said Matt Hubbard, VP of Research &amp; Analytics at Cygnal. &#8220;Swift&#8217;s endorsement is providing a boost to get-out-the-vote efforts, but we&#8217;re seeing minimal impact on the race.&#8221;
One interesting finding in the poll: 5% said Swift swayed them to vote for the Democrat while 6% said she pushed them to switch to the Republican.
&#8220;Anytime a celebrity endorses a candidate or speaks publicly about their political views, there&#8217;s always a risk of alienating fans on the other side of the aisle,&#8221; said Brent Buchanan, Cygnal&#8217;s President and Founder. &#8220;In this case, Swift&#8217;s endorsement may lead to &#8216;Bad Blood&#8217; with her conservative fans.&#8221;
After Swift&#8217;s endorsement, Blackburn said it wouldn&#8217;t amount to much.
&#8220;Tennesseans are more interested in the fact that Marsha Blackburn is endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, by the Fraternal Order of Police, by the Police Benevolent Association and by the National Rifle Association, where I have an &#8216;A&#8217; rating and their endorsement,&#8221; Blackburn said.
Swift also took some heat for endorsing Bredesen for the Senate seat because he angered Democrats and rabid liberals by announcing that he would have supported Brett Kavanaugh&#8217;s nomination for the Supreme Court, declaring that there was no evidence to support last-minute sexual assault allegations against him.
The hardcore left MoveOn immediately pulled its support after Bredesen&#8217;s announcement. &#8220;We&#8217;re cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court,&#8221; MoveOn.org wrote on Twitter.

POLL: Taylor Swift’s Democratic Endorsement In Tennessee Was Virtually Meaningless

Taylor Swift, the 28-year-old singer who dropped out of high school and later earned a GED, jumped into the political fray on Sunday, declaring that she opposes Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
While not surprising that a young person would lean liberal, Swift announced that she will back former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen for the Senate seat. Bredesen, though, recently angered Democrats and rabid liberals by announcing that he would have supported Brett Kavanaugh&#8217;s nomination for the Supreme Court, declaring that there was no evidence to support last-minute sexual assault allegations against him.
The hardcore left MoveOn immediately pulled its support after Bredesen&#8217;s announcement. &#8220;We&#8217;re cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court,&#8221; MoveOn.org wrote on Twitter.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We&#8217;re cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court.
&#8212; MoveOn (@MoveOn) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoveOn/status/1048301380971241472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
We&#8217;re not sure if MoveOn will pull its endorsement of Swift&#8217;s music.
For his part, Bredesen happily accepted the support of one of the world&#8217;s most popular singers.
&#8220;Thank you for the kind words @taylorswift13. I&#8217;m honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done. We&#8217;re ready for it. Last day to register to vote is October 9,&#8221; he wrote.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en">
Thank you for the kind words <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@taylorswift13</a>. I&#8217;m honored to have your support and that of so many Tennesseans who are ready to put aside the partisan shouting and get things done. We&#8217;re ready for it. Last day to register to vote is October 9. <a href="https://t.co/6Xd6YyaJCG">https://t.co/6Xd6YyaJCG</a> <a href="https://t.co/CatUBkXPKe">pic.twitter.com/CatUBkXPKe</a>
&#8212; Phil Bredesen (@PhilBredesen) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilBredesen/status/1049092137944530944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Swift said she could not support Blackburn because of her record of voting against women and the LGBT community.
&#8220;Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. These are not MY Tennessee values. &#8230; I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent,&#8221; she wrote.
Swift also said she would not vote for someone &#8220;who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.&#8221;
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Twitter was all atwitter about Swift&#8217;s entrance into the political realm &#8212; and not all good, mind you.
&#8220;You just endorsed a Democrat in the Tennessee senate race with a ridiculous statement saying Marsha Blackburn, a woman, is against women,&#8221; author Charlie Kirk wrote. &#8220;You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Your career has never recovered since Kanye ended it&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@taylorswift13</a> &#8211;
You just endorsed a Democrat in the Tennessee senate race with a ridiculous statement saying Marsha Blackburn, a woman, is against women
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
Your career has never recovered since Kanye ended it
&#8212; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1049098893420634113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

SHAKE IT OFF: Taylor Swift Gets Political — But Endorses Democrat Who SUPPORTED Kavanaugh

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez spoke to a small group of Democrats in Tennessee this week and seemed to lower their expectations for how the upcoming midterms elections would pan out, telling them not to give up if it &#8220;doesn&#8217;t work this time.&#8221;
&#8220;And you know what folks, I&#8217;d ask you one more thing; you know if it doesn&#8217;t work this time, I hope you&#8217;ll keep doing it,&#8221; Perez told the small gathering.
&#8220;I met a lot of folks who are now in the Virginia House of Delegates, one of whom lost by 52 votes the first time around, she immediately declared the next year and her opponent retired, he didn&#8217;t want to have a rematch,&#8221; Perez said. &#8220;So I hope you&#8217;ll be persistent because I hope you&#8217;ll all win now but I hope you&#8217;re all thinking about this as a long-term investment.&#8221;
Perez&#8217;s remarks come as two Tennessee Republicans &#8212; Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn and businessman Bill Lee &#8212; are <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/15/poll-republicans-blackburn-lee-lead-tennessee/">leading</a> their Democratic counterparts in their races for U.S. Senate and the state&#8217;s governorship, respectively.
WATCH:
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WOMP, WOMP: DNC’s Tom Perez Prepares Democrats For Losses

Tom Perez

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), the same man who said disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/33004/unbelievable-dem-congressman-wants-give-disgraced-ashe-schow">deserved a Purple Heart</a> when Strzok testified before Congress, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/dep-rep-fire-wishing-blackburn-jump-bridge-obviously-humor/">said he was joking</a> last month when he stated he wished Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) would jump off a bridge.
Audio of Cohen making the remarks while speaking to a group of pastors at a prayer breakfast was retrieved by <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democratic-congressman-wants-gop-candidate-jump-off-a-bridge_us_5b6ca0dfe4b0bdd06207ace7">HuffPost</a>; it showed Cohen discussing the 2018 U.S. Senate race in Tennessee, in which Blackburn is running against former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).
As Blackburn is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, who has publicly endorsed her, Cohen mocked her for being obsequious, asserting, &#8220;The big orange president &#8230; He&#8217;s going to come down here and he&#8217;s going to endorse Marsha Blackburn, because Marsha Blackburn, if he says, &#8216;Jump off the Harahan Bridge,&#8217; she&#8217;ll jump off the Harahan Bridge. I wish he&#8217;d say that.&#8221;
As the audience laughed, Cohen added, &#8220;She will do anything he says.&#8221;
Cohen later reassured HuffPost that he was joking and did not wish Blackburn any ill, stating, &#8220;It was obviously humor. I wish her no harm. I hope she doesn&#8217;t get the Senate. And I wish she wasn&#8217;t a lackey for Trump. But I don&#8217;t wish her physical harm.&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/08/09/steve-cohen-under-fire-wishing-marsha-blackburn-would-jump-off-memphis-bridge/953300002/">The Tennessean reported,</a> State GOP chairman Scott Golden responded, &#8220;At a time when our country is combating a mental health crisis, it&#8217;s shocking and, frankly, sickening to hear a Democratic congressman actively wishing for a Republican congressman&#8217;s suicide. The fact that these shameful and violent remarks came at a prayer breakfast make them that much more disappointing.&#8221;

Democrat Rep. ‘Jokes’ About GOP Rep. Jumping Off A Bridge

Donald Trump

The WWE knew him as the &#8220;Big Red Machine,&#8221; and he just got elected Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, thanks to another big red machine.
&#8220;Glenn Jacobs&#8212; better known as WWE wrestler Kane &#8212; won his bid for Knox County, Tennessee mayor after roundly defeating his opponent, Linda Haney,&#8221; reports <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/wwe-kane-glenn-jacobs-knox-county-mayor-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. &#8220;He had the Democratic nominee on the ropes in Thursday&#8217;s election, tallying twice as many votes &#8212; 51,804 to Haney&#8217;s 26,224.&#8221;
Jacobs barely won the GOP primary over his opponent Brad Anders, edging him out by just a 23 vote margin. His 20-year long wrestling career will be coming to a close by entering into politics. His final WWE appearance occurred at an Extreme Rules SmackDown Live tag team championship match. In a tweet on Thursday, the WWE congratulated their alumnus:
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Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/KaneWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KaneWWE</a> on being elected Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee! <a href="https://t.co/I4E5YQhYCC">https://t.co/I4E5YQhYCC</a>
&#8212; WWE (@WWE) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1025190178602864640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Signing with the WWE in 1995, Jacobs moved into wrestling after a knee injury ended his chances of starting a professional football career. Two years later he debuted his iconic &#8220;Kane&#8221; character, known for his ominous voice and red hockey mask. In &#8220;Phantom of the Opera&#8221; fashion, the character covered his face to conceal a horrible scar. He would later describe himself as &#8220;a monstrous abomination that seems to have been extracted directly from your childhood nightmares.&#8221;
Former pro wrestler Jesse &#8220;The Body&#8221; Ventura holds the record for the highest public office held by a professional wrestler. He served as governor of Minnesota between 1999 and 2003 before going on to become a full-time <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1572498/">conspiracy theorist</a>. &#8203;

WWE Wrestler ‘Kane’ Wins Bid For Mayor In Tennessee

A top Tennessee Democrat official who is the leading spokesperson for Democrat Phil Bredesen, the candidate running against GOP candidate Marsha Blackburn, calls Trump voters &#8220;idiots,&#8221; and refers to President Trump as &#8220;Putin&#8217;s b***h&#8221; and &#8220;f***stick.&#8221;
As <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/tennessee-dem-spokesman-f-k-reaching-trump-voters-idiots-arent-listening/">The Washington Free Beacon</a> reports, Mark Brown has quite a history of nasty rhetoric when it comes to Trump voters and the president: (the tweets have since been deleted)
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A Few Thoughts About This Photo <a href="https://t.co/xr0Z0uLMA2">https://t.co/xr0Z0uLMA2</a> Exactly, fuck &#8220;reaching out&#8221; to Trump voters. The idiots aren&#8217;t listening.
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/892125676647710726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> You are Putin&#8217;s bitch and a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FuckingMoron?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FuckingMoron</a>.
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/929378800030441472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://t.co/mz6X4wwwCv">https://t.co/mz6X4wwwCv</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> Racist much, fuckstik? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InsaneClownPresident?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InsaneClownPresident</a>
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/933410293065142272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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FETUS, you insane fuck!
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/942898021234364416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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An understatent in racist America <a href="https://t.co/oHNjrnrq4n">https://t.co/oHNjrnrq4n</a>
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/799390584171433984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Under Trump, evangelicals show their true racist colors <a href="https://t.co/QaUj4hcSUd">https://t.co/QaUj4hcSUd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Truth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Truth</a>
&#8212; Mark Brown (@Gilgamark) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gilgamark/status/901600631034662912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The Beacon reports that Scott Golden, the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, called Brown&#8217;s comments &#8220;hateful&#8221; and &#8220;reprehensible.&#8221; He said Brown was a &#8220;professional Twitter troll&#8221; who has been &#8220;expressing his party&#8217;s true sentiments about President Trump.&#8221;
Bredesen has <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/30/top-tennessee-dem-party-official-snubs-reaching-out-to-trump-voters-calls-them-idiots.html">whined </a>about Vice President Pence&#8217;s rhetoric targeting him as a liberal:
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We need &#8294;<a href="https://twitter.com/VoteMarsha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VoteMarsha</a>&#8297; in the Senate. If Marsha Blackburn&#8217;s opponent wins, Tennessee will have a liberal in the Senate who supports single-payer health care and wants to repeal our tax cuts, which he called &#8220;crumbs.&#8221; He&#8217;s too liberal for Tennessee. <a href="https://t.co/bQITZFeMXB">pic.twitter.com/bQITZFeMXB</a>
&#8212; Mike Pence (@mike_pence) <a href="https://twitter.com/mike_pence/status/1020749933824167936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Golden asserted, &#8220;Phony Phil Bredesen is complaining about the Vice President calling him out for what he is: a liberal. Meanwhile, professional Twitter troll and Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown has been doing Bredesen&#8217;s dirty work and expressing his party&#8217;s true sentiments about President Trump.&#8221;

Top Tennessee Dem Official: Trump Voters ‘Idiots,’ Trump a ‘F***stick’

A Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee made medicinal cannabis a pillar of her campaign and is using a clip of President Trump to push her message in a new ad. 
Beth Harwell, the current Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/26/medical-marijuana-tennessee-beth-harwell-legislation-republican-support/374780002/">came out in support of medicinal cannabis earlier this year</a>, claiming she arrived at her position because it helped her sister in Colorado with a back injury.
<a href="https://bethharwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Beth-Harwell_Cannabis-Ad_02E.mp4">In the ad released on Friday</a>, Harwell details her full support.
&#8220;I am the only Republican candidate for governor who supports legalizing doctor-prescribed medicinal cannabis,&#8221; Harwell says. &#8220;Many suffer: veterans, children with seizures, veterans, our elderly. I just know if it were my loved one, I would want this option.&#8221;
Then the ad shows a clip of then-candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, saying, &#8220;I think medical should happen, right don&#8217;t we agree?&#8221;
Harwell <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/03/harwell-would-support-trump-if-he-becomes-gop-nominee/81267812/">announced her support for Trump</a> after the Tennessee primary in 2016.
&#8220;President Trump is attempting to hand each state the right to develop and tailor solutions that fit the needs of their citizens,&#8221; Harwell told The Daily Wire. &#8220;President Trump has expressed his support for medical cannabis, and he has repeatedly shown how in tune he is with the electorate and the conservative base.&#8221;
Harwell also noted that she believes medicinal cannabis will become more popular within the Republican Party but &#8220;its current popularity is deeply underestimated and misunderstood.&#8221; She believes that medicinal cannabis is &#8220;a conservative solution to easing the opioid crisis and mitigating a spectrum of pain, not a veil for recreational use.&#8221;
&#8220;Medicinal cannabis is a part of my campaign for governor of Tennessee,&#8221; Harwell added. &#8220;However, it is only one component in a platform built on state issues: the need for a greater emphasis on education, fiscal conservatism, and the safety of citizens.&#8221;
Harwell will be on the ballot for the Republican primary on August 2 against several other candidates.

Tennessee Candidate For Governor Uses Trump’s Support For Medicinal Cannabis In Campaign Ad

Marijuana

Trump Administration

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of interviewing Charlotte Bergmann, a candidate for the 9th congressional district of Tennessee looking to unseat Representative Steve Cohen. Below is our exchange:
JF: Tell me about your background, where you grew up and how you got to where you are today.
Charlotte: I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I attended school briefly in Indianapolis, Indiana, but most of my schooling was obtained through the Memphis public school system before busing was introduced. I was so proud of my father, now deceased, who was a Baptist preacher. I was never offended by being called a &#8216;PK&#8217; (Preacher&#8217;s Kid). One gift that has followed me throughout my life is that he required us to memorize scripture.
I grew up in extreme poverty but I did not realize we were poor. At one point, when there were only eight children, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment. Nosey neighbors were the norm and the police were not raiding our community. Unfortunately, my parents divorced and my Mom remarried. We then became a family of twelve. Thankfully, that was when we moved into a two-bedroom apartment.
I am divorced with three children and 14 grandchildren, but that&#8217;s a long story for another time. I graduated from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, where the Brothers were able to begin classes with prayer. I attended school and worked an average of 14 hours. Day and night, during the last few years of my college career. Those days were character-building opportunities.
I retired from FedEx in 2000 as an Information Technology Project Manager. During that time I knew success and prosperity, and then poverty, and success, again. After networking and pulling myself up, all the while refusing government subsidies, I am now running a small business. We provide home health to seniors and I am able to sign the front of my few employee&#8217;s checks, thus providing them with the opportunity to work.
JF: How did you became conservative?
Charlotte: As a Black female, along with so many other Black Christians in my community, while growing up, we did not see the Democratic Party as liberal, thus our conservatism was not challenged. The liberalism developed an in-your-face challenge when it became known that Bill Clinton had no character and he wanted to change our military policies to &#8220;Don&#8217;t Ask, Don&#8217;t Tell.&#8221; I was outraged, yet, I never thought that policy would only be the &#8216;camel&#8217;s nose in the tent.&#8217;
JF: Were you always of this worldview? If not, how did you get here? Did you grow up with it, or did you adopt it later in life?
Charlotte: No, I did not grow up with this view. I changed beginning in 1992, about the same time I started listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio during my lunch breaks.
JF: Taking out an entrenched incumbent like Steve Cohen, despite his insane behavior over the years, must be a really tough feat. What made you decide to take it on?
Charlotte: This will be my third effort to unseat Congressman Cohen. I felt that it was the right thing to do the first two times; however, after losing the second time, I swore I would never run for office again.
Little did I know God had other plans for me. One of my patients required a medical device, yet, while I had the flu, I felt it was imperative she get the device on that day. I set out in my car to deliver it and was struck by an 18-wheeler which sent my car into a hydroplane, not once but twice, and the car landed next to the guardrail, without striking it. Surprisingly, I only had the smallest dent on my vehicle and experienced a slight whiplash. I had just experienced a miracle. I sensed God was trying to get my attention, so I devoted my time to supporting President Trump. I ran in a district-wide election as his delegate and won.
When Congressman Cohen called my good friend, Star Parker, &#8220;ignorant,&#8221; and threatened the President with impeachment, I began receiving numerous phone calls and Facebook requests from people around my community and throughout the country, asking me to give them a better choice for the TN 9th District seat. Pastors and religious leaders, as well as my future constituents who felt unserved by Congressman Cohen, asked me to run one more time.
JF: But what about you specifically makes you the ideal candidate to defeat him? It seems insane that Cohen is untouchable given his many antics during his time in DC, especially him telling disgraced FBI agent Peter Strozk that he wanted to give him a Purple Heart, and essentially tweeting support for a military coup against the President after his Helsinki summit. But, he&#8217;s still here.
Charlotte: I had to smile as I read your question. I am amazed at how Cohen&#8217;s words are causing people to become outraged now, when they thought he was untouchable. Many are working hard to replace him. I have so much support and the voters are excited to know my history aligns itself with many of their experiences and beliefs.
During my past campaigns, I never received the endorsement of the Republican Party; however, I recently received the endorsement of our local county party and was also awarded the Statesman of the Year Award for 2018 from the state party.
I have met the President on several occasions and have asked him for his support. The great thing about this election is that the Junior Republican seat is in play, which gives the RNC reason to send a tremendous ground game to my county. They are canvassing for me as well as for Rep. Marsha Blackburn. This has NEVER happened before.
JF: Has the electorate ideologically changed at all that gives you a better chance here?
Charlotte: The election data and demographics have changed. People are moving out of the heavily Democrat district into more moderate areas, thus allowing them to send their children to better schools.
The RNC has sent staffers to implement a superior ground game. I am a strong campaigner and I am popular in my community. We have commissioned a very strong poll which should be completed after the Primary election which ends on August 2nd. Unlike before, I have dedicated team members; high-energy home-schooled, private school, millennials, as well as mature team members.
JF: Have you received any endorsements yet? If yes, how has it impacted the race? Do you take this as a sign of hope?
Charlotte: As I mentioned, both the Shelby County Republican Party and the State Republican Party have endorsed me. The RNC has sent staffers to work on the ground game with their powerful canvassing tool. The Federated Republican Women&#8217;s Club has endorsed me and I have received endorsements from leaders in the Black community, as well as some in the Jewish community. Our former County mayor endorsed me today. This is a new and powerful development not only for me but for our local political climate.
JF: That&#8217;s really incredible, considering that as a Jew myself, most of my coreligionists tend to vote Democrat for reasons I will never understand, so that&#8217;s really interesting as well.
What do you think of Trump so far? How about the GOP Congress?
Charlotte: I love&#8230;love&#8230;love our President. I understand him. I understood it would take a strong man with military leadership training to straighten out the mess we had gotten ourselves into during the last 20+ years. The icing on the cake is that he grew a backbone from interacting with business people and government from Queens, NY., and knowing how to handle politicians and the main stream media was nothing new for him. I knew when he came down the escalator on June 16, 2015 he would win. I must admit, one of my pastors who has a strong prayer life and a prophetic gift, predicted the outcome.
I am offended with the weakness found in our GOP Congress. They rent the veil of protection surrounding our President when they refuse to trust and support him. He never claimed to be a Politian. He is a businessman taking care of business. They hurt his policies as much as the Democrats with their resistant actions. The Democrats hide behind the Republican weakness.
JF: So true, which is why we need more people like you there. What do you think would be your main focus, or focuses, when you get to Washington?
Charlotte: I want to ensure I am able to serve on the strongest committee which will benefit my community. I plan to be relentless about policies which will make America the best, strongest, fearless nation in the world. I want to help advance the president&#8217;s America First agenda, as well as, make the Tax Cut and Jobs Act permanent. I look forward to reducing the amount of taxes we are spending in the current Healthcare Act.
I also plan to help push legislation to insure that healthcare is affordable and ultimately the responsibility of the doctor and the patient, without government intervention. I want to be the voice for the people in my district and I will work tirelessly to ensure that the money they pay in taxes is meaningful, and they should be able to see a greater amount in their paychecks or bank accounts.
JF: Why should your district vote for you?
Charlotte: I am the only candidate who can defeat Steve Cohen due to my name recognition, TV and radio interviews, and as a result of having challenged him before.
With the aid of my fellow Tennessee Congressional delegation, I can bring about improvements in my community in terms of focusing on the real issues which affect the average household. A good education will produce good paying jobs, which will lead to wealth, not just a $15 per hour job. I will also have a seat at the table with the real decision makers when it comes to representing my community. Your friend, Paige Rogers, has already attested to how different her community looks since it was redistricted into Cohen&#8217;s district, compared to when Marsha Blackburn was the representative.
My community has been voting for Congressman Cohen to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. Cohen is like a walking, talking, tweeting political target. He has lost focus of the needs of the district. He started shouting impeachment. Next, he tried to get the DOJ and Judiciary to advance a slow coup. Now he is openly advocating for a military coup. Unbelievable! He is a fake congressman who has forgotten about Memphis. He is in DC playing DC games while we&#8217;re here in Memphis working and paying taxes.
JF: Sounds great! How can people seeing this contribute or help out your campaign?
Charlotte: I can gratefully <a href="https://secure.anedot.com/bergmann/donate">receive contributions through my website</a>. &#8203;
JF: Great! Best of luck on the campaign trail!

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Charlotte Bergmann, Candidate for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District

Congress

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of interviewing Jason Emert, a candidate for the 2nd congressional district of Tennessee.
Below is our conversation:
JF: Tell me about your background, how you became conservative. Were you always of this worldview? If not, how did you get here?
Jason: Growing up in East Tennessee, our values of love of God, love of others, and love of country are deeply engrained and something I learned pretty early on. In school, I learned the history of our country&#8217;s founding and the principles that made America a beacon of hope and freedom across the world.
JF: Truly amazing, I wish more schools taught this. What made you decide to run for office?
Jason: America is at a turning point. Our world is constantly changing and the time is now for a new generation of leadership. The leaders of tomorrow must secure a future of prosperity and fiscal responsibility. Donald Trump&#8217;s outsider, anti-establishment campaign inspired me to throw my hat in the ring and do what I can for our community. Therefore, when Rep. Duncan announced he would not seek re-election, I felt called to step up to the plate for East Tennessee. Just like President Trump was, I&#8217;m the one true outsider in this race. In Congress, it&#8217;s my pledge to make Washington work for us again.
JF: Who is your opponent and how are you doing against them?
Jason: My two main opponents are Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and State Rep. Jimmy Matlock. Both Burchett and Matlock are career politicians, constantly making promises they can&#8217;t keep to their constituents. Specifically, Burchett failed to keep his promises on paying down county debt and Matlock voted against the largest tax cut in Tennessee history.
When people in East Tennessee voted for President Trump, they were looking for an outsider who could shake things up. I spend my days traveling the Second District to take my own outsider message to East Tennessee voters, and our momentum and support continue to grow. It&#8217;s clear that people in our District want to see change in the status quo, and I believe they recognize I&#8217;m the right person to help President Trump drain the swamp and get our country back on track.
JF: Interesting, I always wondered how politicians who do things like that are so often able to hide their public records. But what about you specifically makes you the ideal candidate to defeat those two?
Jason: As a businessman in my community, I have seen first hand the problems our small business owners and middle-class families face day in and day out. I&#8217;m not running for Congress to further my own career &#8211; I&#8217;m in this race to fight for East Tennessee values and make Washington work for us again. Anti-Trump liberal values don&#8217;t resonate with voters in East Tennessee. They want a congressman who will stand with President Trump on issues like immigration and taxes, amongst others. I&#8217;m confident they will see I&#8217;m the right person for the job.
JF: How is your district in terms of the electorate?
Jason: The second district is filled with conservative, hard working, God fearing people who know that government generally isn&#8217;t the solution to our problems &#8211; it is the problem. I&#8217;m running on a platform of what I like to call &#8220;East Tennessee values&#8221; &#8211; at the end of the day, most people just want to put food on the table and their families to be safe. And in Congress, I&#8217;ll fight to make that a reality for my constituents.
JF: Have you received any endorsements yet?
Jason: No, and I do not plan to. Running as an outsider candidate I am not soliciting or promoting any endorsements. While I greatly appreciate the support and well wishes I&#8217;ve received from numerous public figures, I only want voters to be evaluating my stances and qualifications when they head to the ballot box.
JF: Makes sense. What do you think of Trump so far? What about the GOP Congress?
Jason: From appointing strong conservative judicial nominees to championing historic tax reform, President Trump is truly a conservative reformer. The President consistently puts America first, just as he promised. As for Congress, they have worked well with the President, but we all agree they could do better. East Tennesseans deserve a fighter who will drain the swamp and change the way Congress functions.
The same group of DC insiders have spent decades in Washington bowing to special interests instead of serving the American people. In Congress, I&#8217;ll fight for reforms to drain the swamp once and for all.
JF: It seems that Tennessee is a strong red state on its face, but right now you have two Senators that may as well be Democrats, and the Democrat nominee for Corker&#8217;s seat has a real shot, according to polls. Why do you think this is, and do you think we can retain the seat?
Jason: As we see currently playing out, it&#8217;s vastly important for Republicans to keep control of the Senate, as there&#8217;s a great chance that President Trump will get to nominate yet another Justice to the Supreme Court. I believe fully that Marsha Blackburn will win this fall.
That said, I&#8217;m fully focused on my race. I&#8217;m traveling the Second District every day and making sure voters hear my message of making Washington work for us again. President Trump needs all the strong conservative allies he can get in Congress, and I believe I am one of them.
JF: What are your stances on taxes, spending and economic growth in general?
Jason: Since President Trump&#8217;s tax reform passed, companies are raising wages, middle class Americans are receiving more take-home pay, and previously discouraged workers are reentering the job market. It&#8217;s a step in the right direction, but our work isn&#8217;t done. We have to make these tax cuts permanent to ensure further growth and opportunity down the road.
But when it comes to improving the economy, cutting taxes will only take us part of the way. Washington spends far too much money, period. If we want to keep our economy thriving, then we have to stand up to wasteful spending. It&#8217;s time to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, otherwise the trend of needless spending will continue.
As for general economic growth, America is finally on a path of sustainable growth thanks to the leadership of President Trump. By cutting burdensome regulations and the corporate tax rate, the President has fostered the proper environment for growth. But there is still more work to be done and I look forward to helping him if elected.
JF: Another important policy area is immigration and sanctuary cities. Where do you stand on that issue?
Jason: We can&#8217;t allow cities to receive federal funding when they are in violation of federal laws. We need to ban sanctuary cities immediately and withhold funds from any city that harbors illegal aliens. Washington needs to take action to eliminate sanctuary cities &#8211; American lives depend on it.
JF: One relatively controversial area which divides Trump and the conservative base a bit is infrastructure. What do you think on this? How should the country&#8217;s crumbling infrastructure be improved?
Jason: Our roads and highways are crumbling, plain and simple. It&#8217;s time to take our infrastructure into the 21stcentury so that American citizens and businesses can continue to grow. President Trump made infrastructure a key component of his campaign. In Congress, I&#8217;ll work with the President to pass an infrastructure plan that creates jobs and carries America to a brighter future.
JF: Why should your district in Tennessee vote for you?
Jason: In 2016, people in East Tennessee rejected the status quo because they were tired of the same career politicians doing nothing on their behalf. They voted for President Trump because they wanted someone who would shake up Washington and bring back accountability to our government. I&#8217;m not running to make a life-long career serving DC insiders and special interests; I&#8217;m running to make Washington work for us again. I&#8217;m here to serve the people of East Tennessee and no one else.
JF: How can people seeing this contribute or help out your campaign?
Jason: If you&#8217;re in the area, we&#8217;d love to have you volunteer with us to knock on doors or make phone calls, or if you&#8217;d like to donate, you can do that, too. Visit our campaign website at jasonemert.com.
JF: Great, wish you the best of luck! Thanks for taking the time.

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Jason Emert, Candidate for Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District

Last Thursday, in Lawrence County, Tennessee, two days after being bonded out of jail for his most recent arrest, a 31-year-old man allegedly attempted to rape the wife of a Lawrence County Sheriff&#8217;s deputy in her own home, but he got <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/lawrence-co-deputy-s-wife-fights-off-intruder-using-his-own-knife/1285894501">more than he bargained for</a> &#8212; she grabbed the knife he was holding to her throat and stabbed him in the head and the chest.
Stephen Purcell, now charged with multiple felonies including attempted first degree murder, attempted aggravated rape and aggravated kidnaping, had been arrested multiple times in the last year for robbery, kidnaping and rape.
Captain Adam Brewer with the Lawrence County Sheriff&#8217;s Office stated of the diminutive wife, who stands five-foot-three and weighs 100 pounds, &#8220;She said she heard noises, went to check, opened her garage, and there was a masked man with glasses standing in her garage and she screamed, and he attacked her. He was striking her in the face with his fist, ended up on top of her at one point and eventually pulled a knife, holding it to her throat, she was able to fight him, and get the knife away and stab him a couple of times, once in the side of the head.&#8221;
According to investigators, Purcell ripped off the wife&#8217;s shirt and tried to zip-tie her hands, but she escaped to a neighbor&#8217;s home. They also said that Purcell called 911 claiming he was a witness to the crime, then segued to claiming he was forced to commit the crime. Brewer said, &#8220;Yes, the story he was giving was that he was forced there by two other men with masks on to perpetuate the same crime he was committing &#8230; but he was doing it for them.&#8221;
Sheriff Jimmy Brown said of the deputy whose wife was attacked, &#8220;He and his wife are family, to have to go through this, she is a remarkable young lady. She really is. She fought for her life. She is a small lady, but she has a lot of fight a lot of spunk.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.themaven.net/bluelivesmatter/news/would-be-rapist-attacks-deputy-s-wife-so-she-starts-stabbing-him-with-his-knife-du0p7_1UcUS8v8ZdSPCCjg/">TheMaven</a> reports that when the sheriff&#8217;s office was criticized for letting Purcell out of jail, they responded:
<blockquote>
First and foremost, let us make it clear, OUR DEPARTMENT DOES NOT SET BONDS. Bonds are set by a presiding magistrate or judge based on the charges at hand and any other relevant circumstances at that time.
Secondly, OUR DEPARTMENT DOES NOT SENTENCE SUBJECTS. A sentence an individual is given again comes from a judge, sometimes in coordination with the district attorney&#8217;s office in the instances of a plea deal etc.
If you disagree with a bond amount or the sentence on a given case, we strongly encourage you to address that with the judge, magistrate or district attorney responsible for it, not our department.
Our officers are just as frustrated as the general public when we see repeat offenders or offenders with serious charges back on the streets days after we arrest them, but there is little we can do besides keep arresting them.
Further, our officer&#8217;s jobs are already tough enough without having to read this kind of misinformation constantly on social media. So please help us inform the public by sharing this post.
</blockquote>

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