First-time Independent candidate Alana LeBlanc is vying for Tennessee's House District 61 seat in a long-shot race against incumbent Republican Rep. Gino Bulso and Democratic challenger Claire Jones.
“I am running for office to blur the line between political parties, heal the divide, and create a more collaborative legislative environment and return focus back to the issues that affect us all and get to the root cause of those issues,” LeBlanc told The News, adding that she has ambitions of one day running for federal office.
LeBlanc, a realtor and former home renovation reality tv host, moved to Franklin from Las Vegas about 10 years ago.
She said she initially wanted to run two years ago and made her decision to file her election paper work in the spring of 2024 after a service at Nashville’s CrossPoint Church.
“I saw the divisiveness in the House over the last couple years, and I just felt led to go that direction,” LeBlanc said, adding that she has ambitions for federal office.
“We've got Republicans and Democrats fighting against each other and not fighting for the people and for a better cause," LeBlanc said. "Then they're just so focused on their own ideas and beliefs, they're just forgetting that there's so many other people that don't have those same beliefs.”
LeBlanc is a self-described "huge supporter” of former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has since endorsed former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump.
LeBlanc broadly lists “Freedoms and Rights,” “"Healthcare” and “Education” among her legislative issues and expanded upon her views on several pressing issues facing the legislature in conversation with The News.
School Vouchers
LeBlanc said that she does not support the proposed statewide school voucher bills that failed in the state House last session, but voiced support for some level of voucher program, a topic which will be front and center when lawmakers return in January.
“I know that we are very blessed here in Williamson County to have amazing schools, and so it's not something that we would want or we feel that we would need here, but there are other schools in other districts in our state that are not as fortunate as us, and [I support] parents having the choice to send their child to a school that they feel would be a better fit for them.”
Abortion
“I think, within reason, women should have the right to choose, but they should not have the right to abuse abortions,” LeBlanc said, adding that she doesn't agree with allowing “multiple abortions” and believes that abortions should not be allowed after “somewhere between six weeks and 12 weeks.”
“I don’t believe it should go past that, with the exception of the mother’s life being at risk."
Gun Reform and Arming Teachers
In April, the legislature passed a bill allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools, but that will not be implemented in Williamson County or Metro Nashville Public Schools.
LeBlanc said that she supports rural communities who may have less funding for school resource officers to be able to have armed teachers, calling mental health the “root cause” of gun violence in the United States.
“In my opinion, it's not necessarily access to guns,” LeBlanc said. “I think that if somebody has access to a gun and they're mentally stable, then we don't have any issues.”
Library Restrictions and Pride Flags in Schools
LeBlanc said she is more concerned with legislators focusing on “nutrition, social, emotional learning, how our kids [utilize] adaptability, collaborative work, critical thinking,” in regards to education legislation, versus more culture war-focused bills.
Many of those culture war issues have been championed by her Republican opponent, including lawsuits targeting “obscene” books in school libraries and a failed bill that aimed at banning Pride flags from public schools.
“I think that the issue should not be focusing on banning books but getting our kids to actually read books,” LeBlanc said, adding that she does support having “age-appropriate” books in school libraries.
“Our kids don't even read books," LeBlanc said. "They don't even go to the library, so I don't know what the concern is with them picking up a book off the shelf that has something that you don't agree with when they're not even in the library.”
She called the topic of banning Pride flags from public schools a “non-issue to me" meant to divide people, while adding that she doesn't support the discussion of LGBTQ issues in elementary schools.
“I think that we as parents are supposed to raise our children in the way that we want to raise our children and raise our children to accept people how they are,” LeBlanc said. “If you're worried that your child is going to be influenced, maybe you're not influencing them well enough at home.”
LeBlanc said she has both Republican and Democrat friends and family and has received mostly “very positive” reactions from voters she's talked with while knocking on doors.
“I'm just trying to have the approach of empathy and listening, because I think that a lot of times people are listening but they're not hearing what people want or what people need,” Leblanc said. “So that's my approach, just being authentic and focusing on the issues that are not dividing us.”
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