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'You just have to speak up': Gloria Johnson aims to be Tennessee's first Democratic senator in 28 years [View all]
Mon 18 Sep 2023 08.00 EDT
Johnson speaks with the Guardian one week after launching campaign, which is focused on abortion rights and gun reform
(snip)
“I feel like the big windows around the capitol burst open and sunlight poured in, and all of Tennessee got to get a really close look at what was happening in their legislature,” said Johnson, referring to the expulsion votes. “People saw that they were silencing voices and they were killing legislation just because it came from someone across the aisle, not because it was bad legislation.”
(snip)
Johnson is also familiar with Republican-led redistricting, which compelled her to run in a new district in 2022. Voting rights groups are suing over the state’s redrawn congressional maps, which created an additional Republican-leaning district while taking one from Democrats, saying they dilute the voting power of Black Tennesseans.
But if there’s anything Johnson’s record has proven so far, her allies say, it’s that she runs into these systemic challenges headfirst.
“She made the sacrifice to move to another district, and she won – again. Who else has said they’ve done that?” Oliver said. “She will actually fight for the people and is not concerned about how this benefits her personally.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/18/gloria-johnson-tennessee-democrat-senate
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