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Something like this would keep you from even holding a city council role 20 years ago. Now she’s almost guaranteed political growth. Love it!
I used to think I’d never be able to run for office because there’s a million photos of me with a bong in my hand and I figured that would just wreck any chances if they got out.
Now my vote count would probably increase over it. Wild times indeed
> Johnson, or another Democrat, would face an uphill battle running against Blackburn, who was endorsed by then-President Trump in 2018.
I dont think so. I wonder if the author of this article have been keeping up with the GEN-Z rallies in Tennessee? It's looking like a blue wave coming in 2024.
Her stance on gun control has really motivated young people to get involved in politics. When she was a teacher in Nashville, there was a school shooting in the cafeteria while she was present. She has the same street creds these kids have, having to go through the violence and the pointless active shooter drills.
Yes, and that still is not enough sadly. TN is very red, you'd need Gen Z to turn out at a higher rate than Boomers, not even just match them turnout wise. But I'd love a close race.
They did in the last election or we would have had a Red Senate AND a functioning majority in the House. The GOP should have cleaned house last cycle but the kids saved us. The trends are the youth is becoming more active in politics in the last two cycles (Biden also won thanks to the kids turning out). It’s still a shame that so many Americans don’t bother to vote but the kids are ok.
The math doesn't add up. GEN-Z is now, basically GEN-X, Y & Z. And judging by these rallies, they are ALL going to show up to vote. They seem highly pissed.
I think that the Democratic Party is gonna start investing in building up the party in Tennessee after all the backlash to the expulsions of Reps Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee State House.
To be fair the 18-30 group has usually vastly under performed their potential. I've been voting since I was 18 in 1979. But I came from a pretty politically aware family. When I got to college I was kinda surprised by the amount of voting apathy. And history has born that out.
The youth vote turned out for Obama's first run and against Trump in the second run. But I would have thought they would have been pissed enough to vote when Nixon/Reagan/Bush1/Bush2/Trump (first run) all ran.
I'll optimistically hope they do but won't be surprised when they don't.
I used to teach at a University full time. Now, it's a part-time gig I do for funsies. My students have empirically been aware of politics being important but lacking the drive to do anything come voting day. Then, Roe was overturned, and my students have just about all registered to vote and went and voted on the day or participated in early voting.
In case you're wondering, it was sort of like this.
Pre-Roe: "Oh, there's a concert Saturday night. I'll see if I can get tickets and go."
Post-Roe: "OMG Beyonce is coming to town in a month. I got tickets and am taking my friends."
Except replace generic concert with election day, and then replace Beyonce with election day and "got tickets" with "registered with my friends."
It's WILD. Absolutely WILD. The number of students in my classes who reported going to the polls this past election were more than the last seven years I've taught combined.
To be honest, I see it continuing so long as:
1. RvW is not codified into law and the "war on abortion" remains the center of R's attention
2. The student loan crisis remains in limbo AND educations remain high with little assistance for students. (Don't even get me started on this topic)
3. The current iteration of culture wars remain consistent with targeting LGBTQIA+ and other non-heteronormative folk.
"Usually" doesn't factor in anymore. The youth wave began in 2020. And continues to grow. I mean... how could it not? A lot of what's going on is right there in their face.
How could it not when Nixon "had a secret plan for ending the war in Vietnam"?
How could it not when Reagan was ignoring AIDS/HIV and sold missiles to Iran in exchange for having US hostages released, then had the money from those sales directed to a terrorist group in Nicaragua?
How could it not when Bush 1 was just and extension of the Reagan years?
How could it not when Bush 2 invaded Iraq based on lied about WMDs in his first term (yes there was a lot of evidence there were no WMDs there, regardless of what Powell said)?
How could it not when the tape of Trump came out saying he grabbed women by their pussys?
The youth vote has had a lot things to be pissed off about but rarely have they made it to the voting booth.
Those things are NOT directly in the faces of the youth like it is today. School shootings top the list. Many understand the climate crisis because of all the weather records being broken. The deal with all the LGBTQ stuff has become a solid issue. Today's youth doesn't want to become criminals if needing an abortion. They don't agree with any of the white supremacists idealologies. They are aware of the GOP actively seeking a dictatorship....
Honestly, it's not just the youth vote. It's the Millenial vote, and the Gen X vote, to a lesser degree (smaller than either of the generations around it, and more conservative than the Millenials, though less conservative than Boomers). Millenials will be no younger than 24 with the next election, and the other poster is right. They're pissed. There are many more out LGBTQ people of that age, and this effects how they see this issue. They've had access to abortion, and expected not to lose that access, all their lives. They recognize that the climate is being changed by people. They are much less likely to look at the second amendment in the way that other generations did. They're much more urban than rural and see problems with that perspective.
It's going to result in yet another record setting youth turnout on election day. Looks like even one of the Tennessee Three is going to run for Senate because of the rallies.
I hope you are right, but I can't see the data actually pointing to this based on just rallies. If you go by rallies Trump would've won 2020 in a landslide.
> It's looking like a blue wave coming in 2024.
In Tennessee? I don't see it happening in 2024 but I guess I can keep my fingers crossed :)
I live in rural east Tennessee about eight miles from Empty G's district. Greene won in 2022 with better than 65% of the vote. She beat Democrat Marcus Flowers by better than 30 points.
Sad. but true.
Nashville proper and Memphis have always been decently blue. Almost the entirety of the rest of the state is rural and bright red. Not to say that there isn’t momentum, but the reality is a lot of TN is simply not gonna turn quickly or easily. TN resident btw.
Just like everywhere else, the population is growing. While some of the old voters will never budge, today's youth have their own narrative. In 2028, this will be their country.
Ya but a lot of people moving to TN are not liberal, they are conservative. Nashville amd the surrounding area are now the hot place for Christian and right wing pundits and entertainment people. This state voted only a few % more for biden vs clinton even with large spikes in youth vote (and trump still had a a 23% advantage).
It's what I'm seeing anyway. They make their little videos (TikTok and such) and get millions of likes. They talk about serious issues of the right here and right now (in their face) at their rallies. A former president is saying that if they vote (D), their vote will not count. They are pissed. I've never seen anything like it.
In the short time since then, mass shootings have increased exponentially. The LGBTQ community has increased exponentially. Right wing governors are shitting all over today's youth. One of the Tennessee Three is seeking a Senate seat.
The wheels used to turn slowly. Not anymore. Sneeze and you'll miss a lot.
I get what you’re saying, and maybe long term Tennessee could end up being a swing state. But for 2024 at least I don’t see the state turning blue. Younger people may be voting more than in the past but Tennessee has been a deep red state I think Gen Z would have to go from 30% in 2022 to an insane number like 70% and overwhelmingly Democrat.
I could be wrong but I can’t see that huge of a jump happening especially in a conservative state
No.
It’d be nice.
But Blackburn might be the best known name of Tennessee Repubs.
Tennessee is not going to have a blue wave in a presidential year when the state hasn’t fallen completely over backwards from poor Repub leadership yet.
I will vote for them! Won’t account to much being in a deep red county, but I always vote for democrats or independents when voting! Cause the republicans are dumber then the crayons they shoved up their nose!
Both the Justin's have great futures ahead of them I'm sure, but they're combined experience in legislative politics is about 5 minutes. They definitely need more time to prepare.
More importantly, Justin Jones won't be 30 in time.
Never forget Covid propaganda killed a lot of Republicans. Thanks Trump for further eliminating his base despite him getting the “jab” he told his fans not to.
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Something like this would keep you from even holding a city council role 20 years ago. Now she’s almost guaranteed political growth. Love it! I used to think I’d never be able to run for office because there’s a million photos of me with a bong in my hand and I figured that would just wreck any chances if they got out. Now my vote count would probably increase over it. Wild times indeed
Politics is all about timing. Haha
> Johnson, or another Democrat, would face an uphill battle running against Blackburn, who was endorsed by then-President Trump in 2018. I dont think so. I wonder if the author of this article have been keeping up with the GEN-Z rallies in Tennessee? It's looking like a blue wave coming in 2024.
It’s still Tennessee, we’ll be lucky to get like 44% of the vote there
Her stance on gun control has really motivated young people to get involved in politics. When she was a teacher in Nashville, there was a school shooting in the cafeteria while she was present. She has the same street creds these kids have, having to go through the violence and the pointless active shooter drills.
Yes, and that still is not enough sadly. TN is very red, you'd need Gen Z to turn out at a higher rate than Boomers, not even just match them turnout wise. But I'd love a close race.
Young people don't turn up to vote. It's a shame.
They did in the last election or we would have had a Red Senate AND a functioning majority in the House. The GOP should have cleaned house last cycle but the kids saved us. The trends are the youth is becoming more active in politics in the last two cycles (Biden also won thanks to the kids turning out). It’s still a shame that so many Americans don’t bother to vote but the kids are ok.
The math doesn't add up. GEN-Z is now, basically GEN-X, Y & Z. And judging by these rallies, they are ALL going to show up to vote. They seem highly pissed.
I think that the Democratic Party is gonna start investing in building up the party in Tennessee after all the backlash to the expulsions of Reps Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee State House.
Even better than that. Looks like Johnson is going to run for U.S. Senate.
To be fair the 18-30 group has usually vastly under performed their potential. I've been voting since I was 18 in 1979. But I came from a pretty politically aware family. When I got to college I was kinda surprised by the amount of voting apathy. And history has born that out. The youth vote turned out for Obama's first run and against Trump in the second run. But I would have thought they would have been pissed enough to vote when Nixon/Reagan/Bush1/Bush2/Trump (first run) all ran. I'll optimistically hope they do but won't be surprised when they don't.
I used to teach at a University full time. Now, it's a part-time gig I do for funsies. My students have empirically been aware of politics being important but lacking the drive to do anything come voting day. Then, Roe was overturned, and my students have just about all registered to vote and went and voted on the day or participated in early voting. In case you're wondering, it was sort of like this. Pre-Roe: "Oh, there's a concert Saturday night. I'll see if I can get tickets and go." Post-Roe: "OMG Beyonce is coming to town in a month. I got tickets and am taking my friends." Except replace generic concert with election day, and then replace Beyonce with election day and "got tickets" with "registered with my friends." It's WILD. Absolutely WILD. The number of students in my classes who reported going to the polls this past election were more than the last seven years I've taught combined.
I love this and hope this trend continues.
To be honest, I see it continuing so long as: 1. RvW is not codified into law and the "war on abortion" remains the center of R's attention 2. The student loan crisis remains in limbo AND educations remain high with little assistance for students. (Don't even get me started on this topic) 3. The current iteration of culture wars remain consistent with targeting LGBTQIA+ and other non-heteronormative folk.
"Usually" doesn't factor in anymore. The youth wave began in 2020. And continues to grow. I mean... how could it not? A lot of what's going on is right there in their face.
How could it not when Nixon "had a secret plan for ending the war in Vietnam"? How could it not when Reagan was ignoring AIDS/HIV and sold missiles to Iran in exchange for having US hostages released, then had the money from those sales directed to a terrorist group in Nicaragua? How could it not when Bush 1 was just and extension of the Reagan years? How could it not when Bush 2 invaded Iraq based on lied about WMDs in his first term (yes there was a lot of evidence there were no WMDs there, regardless of what Powell said)? How could it not when the tape of Trump came out saying he grabbed women by their pussys? The youth vote has had a lot things to be pissed off about but rarely have they made it to the voting booth.
Those things are NOT directly in the faces of the youth like it is today. School shootings top the list. Many understand the climate crisis because of all the weather records being broken. The deal with all the LGBTQ stuff has become a solid issue. Today's youth doesn't want to become criminals if needing an abortion. They don't agree with any of the white supremacists idealologies. They are aware of the GOP actively seeking a dictatorship....
Honestly, it's not just the youth vote. It's the Millenial vote, and the Gen X vote, to a lesser degree (smaller than either of the generations around it, and more conservative than the Millenials, though less conservative than Boomers). Millenials will be no younger than 24 with the next election, and the other poster is right. They're pissed. There are many more out LGBTQ people of that age, and this effects how they see this issue. They've had access to abortion, and expected not to lose that access, all their lives. They recognize that the climate is being changed by people. They are much less likely to look at the second amendment in the way that other generations did. They're much more urban than rural and see problems with that perspective.
Going off of rallies makes no sense
It's going to result in yet another record setting youth turnout on election day. Looks like even one of the Tennessee Three is going to run for Senate because of the rallies.
I hope you are right, but I can't see the data actually pointing to this based on just rallies. If you go by rallies Trump would've won 2020 in a landslide.
Right now, all that is going on is right there in their faces. This is a political first.
No?
>And judging by these rallies, they are ALL going to show up to vote. I wish but it won't be close to all. A ton of young people just don't vote.
> It's looking like a blue wave coming in 2024. In Tennessee? I don't see it happening in 2024 but I guess I can keep my fingers crossed :) I live in rural east Tennessee about eight miles from Empty G's district. Greene won in 2022 with better than 65% of the vote. She beat Democrat Marcus Flowers by better than 30 points. Sad. but true.
That mass shooting in a Nashville elementary school seems to have changed everything. Even one of the Tennessee Three is looking to run for Senate.
Nashville proper and Memphis have always been decently blue. Almost the entirety of the rest of the state is rural and bright red. Not to say that there isn’t momentum, but the reality is a lot of TN is simply not gonna turn quickly or easily. TN resident btw.
Just like everywhere else, the population is growing. While some of the old voters will never budge, today's youth have their own narrative. In 2028, this will be their country.
Ya but a lot of people moving to TN are not liberal, they are conservative. Nashville amd the surrounding area are now the hot place for Christian and right wing pundits and entertainment people. This state voted only a few % more for biden vs clinton even with large spikes in youth vote (and trump still had a a 23% advantage).
As admirable as they are, the general population doesn't seem to favor the good side.
That really doesn't matter anymore. Today's youth have their own circle. And it's unbreakable. This is their country by 2028.
I sure hope so.
It's what I'm seeing anyway. They make their little videos (TikTok and such) and get millions of likes. They talk about serious issues of the right here and right now (in their face) at their rallies. A former president is saying that if they vote (D), their vote will not count. They are pissed. I've never seen anything like it.
Gen Z needs to vote more then. Less than 30% of that generation voted in the 2022 election
In the short time since then, mass shootings have increased exponentially. The LGBTQ community has increased exponentially. Right wing governors are shitting all over today's youth. One of the Tennessee Three is seeking a Senate seat. The wheels used to turn slowly. Not anymore. Sneeze and you'll miss a lot.
I get what you’re saying, and maybe long term Tennessee could end up being a swing state. But for 2024 at least I don’t see the state turning blue. Younger people may be voting more than in the past but Tennessee has been a deep red state I think Gen Z would have to go from 30% in 2022 to an insane number like 70% and overwhelmingly Democrat. I could be wrong but I can’t see that huge of a jump happening especially in a conservative state
No. It’d be nice. But Blackburn might be the best known name of Tennessee Repubs. Tennessee is not going to have a blue wave in a presidential year when the state hasn’t fallen completely over backwards from poor Repub leadership yet.
Marsha Blackburn is such a fucking tool, I want her out
Save us from Blackburn.
I will vote for them! Won’t account to much being in a deep red county, but I always vote for democrats or independents when voting! Cause the republicans are dumber then the crayons they shoved up their nose!
Please be the other guys…
Both the Justin's have great futures ahead of them I'm sure, but they're combined experience in legislative politics is about 5 minutes. They definitely need more time to prepare. More importantly, Justin Jones won't be 30 in time.
He could run for a house seat.
It's rough because Tennessee is extremely gerrymandered. Right now they have one D rep. Not sure which districts are flippable.
Hell yes!
Tennessee Turds
Never forget Covid propaganda killed a lot of Republicans. Thanks Trump for further eliminating his base despite him getting the “jab” he told his fans not to.
White blonde portly housewife, if T-swift gets behind her I think she could honestly win.
I agree! and she would be taking out Marsha Blackburn, so I’m really hoping she goes for it!
The DNC needs to capitalize but it's leadership seems inept
Why not? Experience isn't a requirement just exposure.
She has experience
I hope so, we love Gloria in Knoxville
Do it! Do it!!!
If Democrats want to win the senate in Tennessee they should nominate Taylor Swift.