I loved this episode! I’ve been following Lauren on instagram for years and just love her. Hope she can pull it off. I’m a teacher and totally agree with what she says about education. All the tech and testing drive me a little crazy. So I’m in my little elementary art corner of teaching right now where I can avoid the tech and testing of it all. It also gave me more compassion towards some people who don’t put their kids in public ed. I don’t love everything about it, but always wanted to support it and it’s where I put my kids. But my kids are also pretty smart and don’t have needs that public ed isn’t fulfilling so I know they’ll turn out fine. But I have a nonverbal autistic niece, for example, and am so grateful for the different options available for her.
I think the independents can win in TN. I don't believe people are truly grasping the level of disgust people feel towards politics and partisanship at the moment. I wish her all the best.
The education discussion was very interesting. I agree with choice in educational approaches because of almost the opposite experience that Lauren had. My kids went to Montessori preschool and kindergarten. I was worried about my second kid when we decided to move him to a traditional public school. He had gotten into a lot of trouble at the Montessori school and was reluctant to attend. The Montessori approach was perfect for my first kid, so I figured my second kid was the issue. But he started at a traditional public school with a very traditional veteran teacher, he did great! Most years in elementary school, he got placed with an older, experienced teacher who ran a tight ship, and those teachers were perfect for him. I later learned that some students, especially those with chaotic home lives (hopefully that doesn't include my kid) prefer those strict classrooms.
I 1000% percent agree that I want tech out of the classroom. Alas, labor is by far the most expensive part of education, and it will take more than getting rid of tech to be able to fund more teachers and support staff, never mind smaller classrooms. I think that is part of the reason that districts promote tech - they are hoping it will reduce labor costs. But education is one of those fields where humans are essential.
I disagree some: As a person hitting my 20th year in classroom this coming year, I really struggle with hearing someone with three years of classroom experience use the word “we” to describe teachers and teaching as a profession, especially when those are not current years teaching.
While there were many points she brought up that I agreed with, particularly regarding the screens, there were many of her points that felt like they were from an outsider on a soapbox. I also know that, as a teacher in California, teaching in Tennessee is a likely a different world than what I experience, I would have loved to hear more about what she’s actually hearing from teachers than the parent pov.
I never tire of hearing the subtle surprise in a guest's voice when they say, "That's a really good question!" I listen to lots of interviews and you can tell the difference between an obligatory "that's a good question" that buys a few seconds before responding, and how guests respond to Beth and Sarah when they are suddenly understanding what deep thinkers they are talking to!
Thank you for the conversation! I really enjoyed all the items discussed.
Man, can we manifest more honor in politics again?! What a world that would be.
I am torn as a Memphian. I have watched Lauren’s campaign and seriously support her views, platform, and policy ideas. But I am very afraid to vote third party. I’m not as excited for the Democratic options. I’m 100% against having Marsha Blackburn as governor. It’s hard to feel like a third party vote isn’t a republican vote by default in TN.
As a fellow Tennessean (hi from Nashville 👋), I wanted to chime in. I was unsure when I first heard about Lauren, but then when I learned a bit more about Tennessean voter numbers I thought there really is a good chance here — 47% of Tennesseans are independent and we also have one of the lowest voter turnouts in the US. The conclusion that leads me to is that almost half of the state feels like they don’t have people to vote for so they’re not showing up to vote. I think Lauren gives us a great option to vote for (not just vote against like I do sometimes). And I think a number of Republicans and Democrats are dissatisfied, so they may be interested in another option this year. Here’s hoping for change!!
I also am a Memphian (technically Germantown) and I think she’s definitely got an uphill battle being an independent, but you could say the exact same thing about a democrat running in TN.
Just yesterday someone asked the question about gubernatorial candidate platforms on a neighborhood Facebook page & I was honestly surprised with the number of people saying they are tired of Marsha, tired of politicians just backing whoever is in the Oval Office, and truly just tired of the partisan dogging that running a campaign has become. This is in the very red part of Shelby County. I think it’s in those conversations that introducing a candidate like Lauren can provide people with another way. She has talked about this being the moment in TN where an independent candidate could win, and I think she’s right. Maybe I’m too hopeful, but I also don’t want to just say “there’s no way and independent could win” and make it a self fulfilling prophecy.
I think it’s an interesting experiment in very red or very blue states to run an independent candidate, see how much traction they get compared to the major party candidates, and then consolidate around the best alternative. Our local democrats have been willing to do this in several races, and I respect it tremendously.
Yeah the political reality is an independent can’t win a state wide election and she will take potential Democratic votes. She’s allowed to run as that’s how a democracy works and she by all measures is a great person, but it’s a choice to run for office for the first time in a statewide race without the backing of a party for support. She doesn’t even have easy access to the voter file. It’s a terrible system but the system we have 😭
Loved listening to this today and hope her campaign does well here in TN. I’m a little discouraged that I hadn’t heard of her before now. I’m pretty politically active (compared to the average citizen I think) and I don’t think many Memphians know her.
@Corrie Broughton hi from Nashville! As a fellow Tennessean (hi from a Nashville), I’m with you in wishing there was more out there about her and more people knew of her. I wonder how we can make that happen? I know she has lots of events around the state and people are slowly learning about her. I do think it’s a potentially interesting year for an independent if more people know about her.
I’m also a Tennessean and the reality is an independent has no chance to win a statewide election no matter how great they are.
Even with a well staffed and hard working campaign she isn’t going to be able to reach the Tennesseans she needs to win. I’m honestly not thrilled she’s running as she’s going to just make it easier for the Republican nominee to win.
I'm excited about Lauren because I think an Independent candidate has a better chance than a Democrat to defeat Blackburn. Her campaign is the first I've ever donated to.
Unfortunately, the sad reality is that independents don’t have a chance to win even state house district let alone statewide. While our instinct is to think that people may vote for an independent over a Republican the reality is independent candidates don’t have the infrastructure to run strong campaigns- for example access to the voter file comes from the party infrastructure and without it she has no voter information or organized ways to contact actual voters via mail or even in a strategic way via digital ads. (I think she can pay each county for voter files but they are delivered to independent candidates via spreadsheet not a database that makes it realistic to mass contact voters or even create an organized system to door knock etc). PP listeners are highly engaged in politics and even some of these folks in the comments from Tennessee don’t know about her.
Even in state house races where independents run they don’t get more than 5-10% of votes and they have a fraction of the number of votes to win.
I wish we had a system where independents could win but sadly in Tennessee in 2026 we do not.
That’s great! Do you know how she has the voter file? It’s my understanding that independent candidates get it via spreadsheet county by county whereas party candidates get it by a whole highly complex and organized database with the history of voters, their propensity to vote etc. which makes it WAY easier to contact voters.
I’m sorry to be negative about her and truly don’t want to “tuck anyone’s yum” as my kids say. But I’ve been involved in Tennessee advocacy and elections for almost a decade now and don’t see a viable path for her to win. Running for even local office is hard WITH name recognition. I ran myself in 2020 as a Democrat for state house in Williamson county against an independent who had a lot of name recognition and was convinced he would beat me and he got a fraction of the votes I ended up with (I ended up with more votes than any Democrat has ever gotten in Williamson county). I wish the reality and system were different. If we were a more functioning democracy she would.
I ran as an independent candidate for city council and you absolutely can access voter files. I did it through my experienced campaign manager and had them for mailers, calling, etc. I had all the information you’re citing.
I do wonder how much good she might have been able to do if she ran as a Democrat. I think the idea that “every Democrat is evil and you should never vote for them” still runs very strong in the South, particularly in religious circles. Or at least that is my sense from people I know who do not want to engage with politics at any kind of level besides good vs evil. I wonder if she could have provided push back on that by joining with the label of Democrat.
Thank you for interviewing Lauren Pinkston! I’m live in TN and in the town she lives in. I think her campaign is smart and exciting. This was a great interview!
I haven’t listened yet but I’m excited to! Even though I don’t live in TN, I was following Lauren before she announced her candidacy and I was curious if you would talk about her race on the show.
Regarding the allegations against Graham Platner, I one million percent agree there was a breakdown in vetting and he should not have been the nominee. I do want to note that when these latest allegations came up Platner’s political supporters immediately removed their support and called for him to drop out. One can argue it was too late but it *does* show (once again) that the Democratic Party is not the same as the Republican Party. See: Ken Paxton as the nominee for Texas Senate and Donald Trump and his cabinet of dishonorable people currently in power.
I wonder if Democrats were given more credit for the things they get right if they would be more courageous and stand up and push back sooner? My guess is that the false equivalency placed on the party has been a deterrent to the members and leaders in standing up and pushing back.
I say all this as someine deeply frustrated with the Party who wants to see them make more of a distinction between the parties. But I also understand that if they are not acknowledged when they do something good they are less likely to repeat those behaviors.
I heard an interesting discussion of this on Left, Right, and Center with two people who had been political operatives/headed up campaigns - one Republican and one Democrat. Both agreed that the parties don't really vet people at the primary stage because the formal parties don't have much of a say. This is even more true now that parties have weakened. So the people working on candidates' campaigns are the ones doing the vetting, and that is often problematic because if you are working on someone's campaign, you at least have some affinity for the candidate. This ties in with the discussion I have sometimes heard on PP about the pros and cons of the parties picking the candidate rather than the voters.
For me, the quick reversal by highly visible Democrats on Platner indicates that they never truly believed in him and were only pandering to a loud segment of primary voters. The betting markets were already against Platner in the general, and Republican operatives were keen to have this "man of the people" as their opponent.
I don't think we're seeing the quick ouster of Platner on principle, but as a pragmatic move to keep the Senate seat in play. I'd have more faith in the principles of the Democratic Party if they had backed a viable, age-appropriate candidate without all the messy baggage in the first place. That there are suddenly a half dozen viable candidates raising their hands is a reasonable indicator that the party (and the DSA offshoot) did not do their due diligence when selecting candidates for the primary. The party needs to do more than back an Instagram influencer, or an establishment figure pushing 80.
I loved this episode! I’ve been following Lauren on instagram for years and just love her. Hope she can pull it off. I’m a teacher and totally agree with what she says about education. All the tech and testing drive me a little crazy. So I’m in my little elementary art corner of teaching right now where I can avoid the tech and testing of it all. It also gave me more compassion towards some people who don’t put their kids in public ed. I don’t love everything about it, but always wanted to support it and it’s where I put my kids. But my kids are also pretty smart and don’t have needs that public ed isn’t fulfilling so I know they’ll turn out fine. But I have a nonverbal autistic niece, for example, and am so grateful for the different options available for her.
I think the independents can win in TN. I don't believe people are truly grasping the level of disgust people feel towards politics and partisanship at the moment. I wish her all the best.
TN Voter Data: Registration by Party, Turnout & Primary Rules https://share.google/fiyw5wNOvRybktXzE
Yes!!! I think so too Allison! I think there’s so much frustration and disgust along with 47% independents in TN! I think there’s a great chance.
Yes! She could motivate the disenfranchised 42% of non-voters to come out and cast a ballot
The education discussion was very interesting. I agree with choice in educational approaches because of almost the opposite experience that Lauren had. My kids went to Montessori preschool and kindergarten. I was worried about my second kid when we decided to move him to a traditional public school. He had gotten into a lot of trouble at the Montessori school and was reluctant to attend. The Montessori approach was perfect for my first kid, so I figured my second kid was the issue. But he started at a traditional public school with a very traditional veteran teacher, he did great! Most years in elementary school, he got placed with an older, experienced teacher who ran a tight ship, and those teachers were perfect for him. I later learned that some students, especially those with chaotic home lives (hopefully that doesn't include my kid) prefer those strict classrooms.
I 1000% percent agree that I want tech out of the classroom. Alas, labor is by far the most expensive part of education, and it will take more than getting rid of tech to be able to fund more teachers and support staff, never mind smaller classrooms. I think that is part of the reason that districts promote tech - they are hoping it will reduce labor costs. But education is one of those fields where humans are essential.
I think Lauren really hit her stride talking about education. Would love to see her in an education commission position.
I disagree some: As a person hitting my 20th year in classroom this coming year, I really struggle with hearing someone with three years of classroom experience use the word “we” to describe teachers and teaching as a profession, especially when those are not current years teaching.
While there were many points she brought up that I agreed with, particularly regarding the screens, there were many of her points that felt like they were from an outsider on a soapbox. I also know that, as a teacher in California, teaching in Tennessee is a likely a different world than what I experience, I would have loved to hear more about what she’s actually hearing from teachers than the parent pov.
Fair enough
I never tire of hearing the subtle surprise in a guest's voice when they say, "That's a really good question!" I listen to lots of interviews and you can tell the difference between an obligatory "that's a good question" that buys a few seconds before responding, and how guests respond to Beth and Sarah when they are suddenly understanding what deep thinkers they are talking to!
Thank you for the conversation! I really enjoyed all the items discussed.
Man, can we manifest more honor in politics again?! What a world that would be.
I am torn as a Memphian. I have watched Lauren’s campaign and seriously support her views, platform, and policy ideas. But I am very afraid to vote third party. I’m not as excited for the Democratic options. I’m 100% against having Marsha Blackburn as governor. It’s hard to feel like a third party vote isn’t a republican vote by default in TN.
Here for more honor in politics again!!
As a fellow Tennessean (hi from Nashville 👋), I wanted to chime in. I was unsure when I first heard about Lauren, but then when I learned a bit more about Tennessean voter numbers I thought there really is a good chance here — 47% of Tennesseans are independent and we also have one of the lowest voter turnouts in the US. The conclusion that leads me to is that almost half of the state feels like they don’t have people to vote for so they’re not showing up to vote. I think Lauren gives us a great option to vote for (not just vote against like I do sometimes). And I think a number of Republicans and Democrats are dissatisfied, so they may be interested in another option this year. Here’s hoping for change!!
I also am a Memphian (technically Germantown) and I think she’s definitely got an uphill battle being an independent, but you could say the exact same thing about a democrat running in TN.
Just yesterday someone asked the question about gubernatorial candidate platforms on a neighborhood Facebook page & I was honestly surprised with the number of people saying they are tired of Marsha, tired of politicians just backing whoever is in the Oval Office, and truly just tired of the partisan dogging that running a campaign has become. This is in the very red part of Shelby County. I think it’s in those conversations that introducing a candidate like Lauren can provide people with another way. She has talked about this being the moment in TN where an independent candidate could win, and I think she’s right. Maybe I’m too hopeful, but I also don’t want to just say “there’s no way and independent could win” and make it a self fulfilling prophecy.
I think it’s an interesting experiment in very red or very blue states to run an independent candidate, see how much traction they get compared to the major party candidates, and then consolidate around the best alternative. Our local democrats have been willing to do this in several races, and I respect it tremendously.
How have those races gone for the independents?
Yeah the political reality is an independent can’t win a state wide election and she will take potential Democratic votes. She’s allowed to run as that’s how a democracy works and she by all measures is a great person, but it’s a choice to run for office for the first time in a statewide race without the backing of a party for support. She doesn’t even have easy access to the voter file. It’s a terrible system but the system we have 😭
Loved listening to this today and hope her campaign does well here in TN. I’m a little discouraged that I hadn’t heard of her before now. I’m pretty politically active (compared to the average citizen I think) and I don’t think many Memphians know her.
@Corrie Broughton hi from Nashville! As a fellow Tennessean (hi from a Nashville), I’m with you in wishing there was more out there about her and more people knew of her. I wonder how we can make that happen? I know she has lots of events around the state and people are slowly learning about her. I do think it’s a potentially interesting year for an independent if more people know about her.
I’m also a Tennessean and the reality is an independent has no chance to win a statewide election no matter how great they are.
Even with a well staffed and hard working campaign she isn’t going to be able to reach the Tennesseans she needs to win. I’m honestly not thrilled she’s running as she’s going to just make it easier for the Republican nominee to win.
I'm excited about Lauren because I think an Independent candidate has a better chance than a Democrat to defeat Blackburn. Her campaign is the first I've ever donated to.
Unfortunately, the sad reality is that independents don’t have a chance to win even state house district let alone statewide. While our instinct is to think that people may vote for an independent over a Republican the reality is independent candidates don’t have the infrastructure to run strong campaigns- for example access to the voter file comes from the party infrastructure and without it she has no voter information or organized ways to contact actual voters via mail or even in a strategic way via digital ads. (I think she can pay each county for voter files but they are delivered to independent candidates via spreadsheet not a database that makes it realistic to mass contact voters or even create an organized system to door knock etc). PP listeners are highly engaged in politics and even some of these folks in the comments from Tennessee don’t know about her.
Even in state house races where independents run they don’t get more than 5-10% of votes and they have a fraction of the number of votes to win.
I wish we had a system where independents could win but sadly in Tennessee in 2026 we do not.
She actually does have the voter file.
That’s great! Do you know how she has the voter file? It’s my understanding that independent candidates get it via spreadsheet county by county whereas party candidates get it by a whole highly complex and organized database with the history of voters, their propensity to vote etc. which makes it WAY easier to contact voters.
I’m sorry to be negative about her and truly don’t want to “tuck anyone’s yum” as my kids say. But I’ve been involved in Tennessee advocacy and elections for almost a decade now and don’t see a viable path for her to win. Running for even local office is hard WITH name recognition. I ran myself in 2020 as a Democrat for state house in Williamson county against an independent who had a lot of name recognition and was convinced he would beat me and he got a fraction of the votes I ended up with (I ended up with more votes than any Democrat has ever gotten in Williamson county). I wish the reality and system were different. If we were a more functioning democracy she would.
I ran as an independent candidate for city council and you absolutely can access voter files. I did it through my experienced campaign manager and had them for mailers, calling, etc. I had all the information you’re citing.
Elizabeth - Have you every been interviewed on Pantsuit Politics? Your story and point of view sound interesting!
I do wonder how much good she might have been able to do if she ran as a Democrat. I think the idea that “every Democrat is evil and you should never vote for them” still runs very strong in the South, particularly in religious circles. Or at least that is my sense from people I know who do not want to engage with politics at any kind of level besides good vs evil. I wonder if she could have provided push back on that by joining with the label of Democrat.
It’s a very frustrating reality.
Thank you for interviewing Lauren Pinkston! I’m live in TN and in the town she lives in. I think her campaign is smart and exciting. This was a great interview!
I haven’t listened yet but I’m excited to! Even though I don’t live in TN, I was following Lauren before she announced her candidacy and I was curious if you would talk about her race on the show.
I love the intro and also do we know anything more about Mitch McConnell?
You make a point, Kristy
Regarding the allegations against Graham Platner, I one million percent agree there was a breakdown in vetting and he should not have been the nominee. I do want to note that when these latest allegations came up Platner’s political supporters immediately removed their support and called for him to drop out. One can argue it was too late but it *does* show (once again) that the Democratic Party is not the same as the Republican Party. See: Ken Paxton as the nominee for Texas Senate and Donald Trump and his cabinet of dishonorable people currently in power.
I wonder if Democrats were given more credit for the things they get right if they would be more courageous and stand up and push back sooner? My guess is that the false equivalency placed on the party has been a deterrent to the members and leaders in standing up and pushing back.
I say all this as someine deeply frustrated with the Party who wants to see them make more of a distinction between the parties. But I also understand that if they are not acknowledged when they do something good they are less likely to repeat those behaviors.
I heard an interesting discussion of this on Left, Right, and Center with two people who had been political operatives/headed up campaigns - one Republican and one Democrat. Both agreed that the parties don't really vet people at the primary stage because the formal parties don't have much of a say. This is even more true now that parties have weakened. So the people working on candidates' campaigns are the ones doing the vetting, and that is often problematic because if you are working on someone's campaign, you at least have some affinity for the candidate. This ties in with the discussion I have sometimes heard on PP about the pros and cons of the parties picking the candidate rather than the voters.
Agree about how important the line-drawing is! I have a long chat about this with progressive organizer Alex McCoy coming up on Tuesday!
For me, the quick reversal by highly visible Democrats on Platner indicates that they never truly believed in him and were only pandering to a loud segment of primary voters. The betting markets were already against Platner in the general, and Republican operatives were keen to have this "man of the people" as their opponent.
I don't think we're seeing the quick ouster of Platner on principle, but as a pragmatic move to keep the Senate seat in play. I'd have more faith in the principles of the Democratic Party if they had backed a viable, age-appropriate candidate without all the messy baggage in the first place. That there are suddenly a half dozen viable candidates raising their hands is a reasonable indicator that the party (and the DSA offshoot) did not do their due diligence when selecting candidates for the primary. The party needs to do more than back an Instagram influencer, or an establishment figure pushing 80.
That last sentence, Yvette