National Democratic Party Leaders See South as Path to Success

Last week, Tennessee saw visits from national Democratic Party leaders, including newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hope that Tennessee and the American South could play a critical role in revitalizing the party.

“The path to enduring Democratic success in this country runs directly through the American South,” Martin declared during his July 12 keynote address at the state party’s annual Three Star Dinner in Nashville. 

He said that over the last six months, Tennessee Democrats have reorganized all 95 counties, hosting town halls to galvanize the party base.

“Now this is how we change the game,” Martin said. “We organize everywhere, and I mean everywhere, not just where we performed well in the past, not just in blue states or purple states, but everywhere, because, as you've heard people say tonight, when you organize everywhere, you can win anywhere.”

Martin also pledged to “take back Congress” in the 2026 midterms, adding, “there are no off years anymore. We need to turn on the off years. We are in permanent campaign mode.”

The importance of the South to the national party may have been best reflected in one of the night’s most passionate speeches given by TNDP Vice Chair Nathan Higdon, a self-described gay seventh-generation Appalachian who told the crowd that “rural Tennesseans do not want your pity. We need your investment.” He also called Democrats “the party of working people” and stressed the need for buy-in from everyone to forge a new path.

“There are counties outside of Davidson, Knox and Shelby, folks,” Higdon said. “And time and time again, the numbers have shown that we simply cannot win here in this state, nor anywhere, without a plan that runs right down [the] main street of every single rural county.

“We have post-mortemed, we’ve polled, we’ve focus-grouped, we’ve strategy sessioned our way to what – messaging is our problem? I don't think so,” Higdon said, adding the party would continue to support marginalized groups and all Tennesseans. “We succeed when we meet [voters] where they are and we listen, then we can bring them on board with the rest of our issues.”

The event saw remarks from numerous other speakers, including Tennessee’s lone Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen, who defended his party’s actions in Washington, D.C., saying “the Democratic caucus is doing the best that we can,” as Democrats have virtually no power in Congress.

“One of the gentlemen came up here and spoke, and he said, ‘nobody's looking out for the person who doesn't have enough and needs more’ – Wrong,” Cohen said forcefully. “The Democratic Congressional Caucus is doing that, and a lot of our members do it every day, and do it with passion.” 

Democrats have been debating and discussing the future of their party and reassessing their tactics after former Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic loss to President Donald Trump in November 2024, which saw Trump win all seven battleground states.

“We are not going to let this be our future or define us,” TNDP Chair Rachel Campbell said of the dominating Republican supermajority. “We organize to empower, not to enrich ourselves. While they serve their donors, we serve our communities. They fear change. We love it. We build it – one precinct, one county, one school board seat, one county commission seat at a time. We will take back Tennessee, one county government at a time. Tennessee is not a hopeless state, don't let anyone convince you that it is.”

The dinner also saw pitches from District 7 congressional candidates ahead of the pending special election due to the resignation of Republican Rep. Mark Green, as well as early challengers for the District 5 seat, currently held by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles.

Martin told Williamson Scene sister publication Nashville Post following his speech that he believes Democrats have “a great shot” at winning both seats, but noted that Tennessee “didn't become red overnight, and it won't turn back blue overnight.”

“There's momentum on our side. There's wind at our back right now,”  Martin said. “People are in this fight. People are ready, not just people who are already part of this party, but many people who are joining our party because they're so pissed off by what [the Trump] administration has done to their communities and to their families.”

Hours before the Three Star Dinner, Rep. Justin Jones and Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar hosted a “Rapid Response Town Hall” at Antioch’s Cane Ridge High School, an event organized in just days, which drew several hundred community members.

“This town hall is about sending a message that there's much more that unites us than divides us,” Jones said during his opening remarks, calling out Ogles, who he said was “missing in action” in his own congressional district.

Ogles has not held any public in-person town hall since he was first elected in 2022, and Antioch has been disproportionately impacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Middle Tennessee, part of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown.

“I was shocked that this was a community that had not had their member of Congress holding a town hall,” Omar said. “I was shocked that you all did not get the opportunity to hear what your member of Congress has been up to in Congress, and you also do not get to ask questions, to confront them, to register your disappointment, and so I am here to do that for you today.”

The pair fielded questions from the audience for nearly an hour and challenged attendees to fight injustice with community and solidarity.

On July 9, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a surprise appearance at an Eastnashtivists community meeting where he rallied Democratic activists and community members. Newsom is in the conversation as one of the frontrunners for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2028 presidential election. He made the stop in Music City following a political tour in South Carolina, a continuing tactic of national-level Democrats appearing in traditionally red states.