In 2022, Republican lawmakers redrew congressional districts, dividing Davidson County into three districts with large swaths of rural areas. This allowed Republicans to win all three seats. Three women, all Democrats, are now running against the Republican incumbents in the Nov. 5 election: Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (District 7), disability activist Lore Bergman (District 6), and nonprofit leader Maryam Abolfazli (District 5). Here’s what they have to say about their campaigns.
We attempted to contact the Republican incumbents, but they did not respond to interview requests.
How have you been reaching out to our rural neighbors who might not share the same beliefs as you?
Megan Barry, District 7 Congressional Candidate
“At the beginning of the summer, I stood with a rural mayor at their Memorial Day Parade, and we had a long conversation. At one point I asked, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ and he said, ‘I need two ambulances to serve my whole county, and I don’t have the tax base.’ I said, ‘Look, that’s the kind of stuff where you could have a federal representative who might vote for Medicaid expansion.’
“I was back two weeks ago for a festival, and a woman had fallen and broken her hip. I’ll be darned if we weren’t waiting for that ambulance to come all the way from the other side of the county to get her.
“These are real issues that impact real lives of constituents in these counties. They want their quality of life, access to healthcare, ability to have a great education, and access to affordable housing to improve. There’s been a lot of commonality.”
You don’t have the same amount of institutional support as other Democrats. How is your campaign experience going?
Lore Bergman, District 6 Congressional Candidate
“It’s been hard. It’s been heartbreaking at times. I know I don’t have the publicity, but we need Democrats. We should be helping all of them. I’m not blaming the candidates; I’m blaming the way things are working right now in Tennessee when it comes to the Democratic Party. I wish I could do commercials; I wish someone would give me that much money. But I think it’s part of my story.
“When I was on disability, I lived for years below the poverty line. I know how to balance a budget. I’m resourceful. When it comes to my campaign, I designed all my own buttons, logos, and signs. I won my primary on $1,954.83. That’s all I had to work with.
“It’s been stressful, but I really believe everything I’ve been through has brought me to this point. I work as hard as I can, and I keep going.”
What would your campaign theme song be?
Maryam Abolfazli, District 5 Congressional Candidate
“I’m on the road a lot campaigning, often with my dad and son, and I’ll play “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled. I wondered why this song gets me so up, and I realized it’s not about election day. It’s about how impactful and meaningful the campaign has been. Whenever I have a conversation with someone, maybe from the opposite sides of the aisle, and they’re really skeptical, and we connect on a thing — infrastructure, military, whatever it might be — suddenly it’s like, *ding,* the connection’s been made. The respect is there.
“It feels like winning in a deeper sense, like winning against divisions. This is what it feels like when you’re doing the right thing, when people are treating each other with respect.”
