General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So I waited until the dust settled after the TN election to suggest this, but.... [View all]Docreed2003
(18,697 posts)Aftyn pulled off a massive shift in that gerrymandered district. She performed better than expected across every county in that district with every single county shifting to the left. That district is largely made up of rural and conservative bastions designed surgically to be a forever red district. Her ground game forced the GOP to pour massive resources into a district that was on no one's radar before the election.
I know you're not meaning ill intent in your post but to hear "maybe someone more moderate would have won" is infuriating and shows very little understanding of the situation on the ground here in Tennessee.
Also, the statement you were referring to essentially had zero impact. Her opposition pulled a quote from a radio interview where she made a statement about the current state of Nashville where she said she disliked the "woo girl" bachelorette scene and the pedal bars that litter downtown. Nashvillians heard that, shrugged, and said "yeah us too". She carried the sliver of Davidson Co in the district by something like 89% of the vote. You know who does actually HATE Nashville though? The GOP leadership in this state that carved up a solid blue district into pieces leaving the state capital without real representation.
There's no "moderate candidate" that would have been able to shift this district in the way Aftyn was able to perform. Steve Kornaki doesn't have a clue what he's talking about with regards to this race.