NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — During the “blue tsunami” that swept across the U.S. on November 3, Democrats picked up six seats in the Tennessee House. State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, who represents District 55 in Nashville, explains what those gains could mean for Democrats working within Tennessee’s Republican supermajority.
Clemmons says under Republican rule, "Tennessee taxpayers' hard-earned money is being enjoyed in boardrooms around the world. It should be in living rooms in the state of Tennessee."
Clemmons also says his party will continue to "fight to reduce taxes, build better schools, lower costs of living and address the rising costs of healthcare."
One of the districts that changed hands is House District 75 in Clarksville, where voters elected Allie Phillips. She is the first woman, first mother, first Democrat and first union member elected to represent the district. Phillips credits her victory to listening to voters and keeping their concerns at the center of her campaign.
Phillips first became involved in politics after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Tennessee enacted one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans.
In 2022, Phillips was expecting her second child. At her 20-week checkup, she learned her pregnancy was not viable and that continuing the pregnancy could put her life at risk. Phillips shares her traumatic experience and explains how it strengthened her resolve to make sure Tennessee laws do not put people's lives in danger.
In the state legislature, Phillips says she plans to focus on affordability, and the rising costs of health care and child care.
Phillips says, "There just isn't the priority of leadership that we currently have right now in the General Assembly. They're not prioritizing those things."
Phillips also says she will work to change Tennessee's abortion ban through legislation named in honor of her stillborn daughter, Miley's Law.
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