Category: News

Thank you so much for all of the support for our campaign! From fundraising to phone calls to postcards to yard sign drops – you made my first time run for office possible. 

Our campaign came up short this time. But we’re not done yet, not by a long shot. 

As I write this, our team is already back at it – continuing the fight for our rural communities. Our objective is clear – a Democratic majority in the state house and senate by the end of the decade. 

In the words of President Kennedy, we choose this not because it’s easy – but because it serves to “organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

This is more than a moment. It’s the start of a movement. One that we intend to win.

It won’t be easy. We’ll have to fight for every inch of ground that we gain. But to do anything less is not an option.

If you want to be part of this movement, sign up below. We’ll need you on the team to make this happen!

Remarks at the TNDP Convention Breakfast on August 18, 2020.

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Thank you so much. I’m excited to see so many Democrats that are ready to roll up our sleeves and put in the work for our friends, family, and neighbors across the state.

When I was growing up, it seems like we were always hanging around my granddad’s shop on our farm. He was the guy everyone around our community trusted to fix their tractors. The tractor guy.

After school, we’d help him pull these massive engines out, swap brakes, and just put in the work to keep those tractors going. He always talked about taking care of things – making them better. We put in the work now to make sure that tractor left his shop better than how it came in.

When people ask why I’m running for state senate and why I’m working with our rural caucus, our state party, the answer is simple – I just want to help make our community better. I want to make sure families don’t have to choose between putting food on their table or seeing a doctor. I want to make sure our teachers are paid what they’re worth and our students have everything they need for success. I want to make sure that our rural way of life is here for the generations that come after us.

Rural communities are the future of our Democratic party. There’s an untapped power here with enormous potential just ready to go. Doug Jones proved it in Alabama. Stacy Abrams in Georgia. And we’re going to prove it right here in Tennessee.

Within an hour of nearly every house in the state, there’s an election where a rural Democrat needs our support and help. It’s everything from state senate all the way down ballot to county commissioner. They need help with voter outreach, registration, fundraising, and all the many things that go into winning an election.

Find those candidates in your community. If you live in a larger city, turn outward and look for a rural candidate like Civil Miller Watkins in Hardeman, Jay Clark over in Blount, or even my own campaign here in Lincoln. Pitch in on the work. Help us make progress and flip some of these seats blue.

I know – progress when you’re a blue dot in a red county is hard. And it’s hard to keep at the work year after year, election after election. But that’s our work. That’s the work needed to stand with every Tennessean and fight for better jobs, better schools, and our rural way of life. If we don’t show up and do the work, then who? It’s up to us. We have to show up and put in the work for our rural communities.

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This is a grassroots team powered by people like you and I need your help. From making calls to writing postcards, find out how you can best help us build a better Tennessee that works for everyone.

As our communities battle the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to lose track of other things that we need to stay focused on. One big focus right now – the 2020 Census.

Once every ten years, we count everyone living in America. It provides us with essentially a snapshot of our nation – who we are, where we live, and what we need. In a broader context, it lays out funding and political power, which is why it’s so important to count every single person.

Using information from the Census, we’ll decide:

• How many Congressional representatives our state has.
• How to redraw our political districts from Congress right down to school zones.
• Where to allocate $1.5 trillion dollars for hospitals, roads, schools, free/reduced school lunches, Pell Grants, and more.

If you’re not counted, our community loses out on your fair share of that funding and political power. And it’s lost for the next ten years until we count everyone again.

By now, you should’ve received a 2020 Census form in the mail. There’s a few options to complete it. You can fill that form out and drop it back in the mail. You can respond online at My2020Census.gov and complete it there. You can even call your answers in by calling 844-330-2020.

Go ahead and take a few minutes to complete the Census if you haven’t yet. You’re already online looking at this email so now’s a great time to take five minutes and fill it out.

As we fight through this pandemic and start rebuilding on the other side, we’re going to need the funding and political power more than ever. It’s critical that we all receive our fair share so we can rebuild together.

Your friends, family, and neighbors are counting on you to be counted.

Our communities are counting on you.

I’m counting on you.

In light of the pandemic, our team rescheduled all community events for the next few weeks. That’s where our Chat with Chase livestreams comes in!

Each week, we’ll meet online and talk through questions that you’ve got. It might be questions around how Tennessee is handling the pandemic, what my plans are to help our public schools, or what our family is doing while the Safer At Home protections are in place.

Use the form below to send in your question. As soon as we’ve got those questions bundled up, I’ll go live and we’ll chat!

We find ourselves in unprecedented times – ones full of uncertainty, anxiety, and confusion. It feels like the ground shifts between our feet every day.

But as we’ve seen in the last week, the Tennessee volunteer spirit is alive and well in our communities. Neighbor helping neighbor. Friends reaching out to check on each other. Nurses, doctors, teachers, truck drivers, grocery store workers, and thousands of volunteers all responding to the call for help and rising up to serve together.

In times of crisis, we choose community.

The next few weeks will be unlike anything we’ve seen in our recent history. I want to offer just a few pieces of help.

If you can, stay home. You’re safer, we’re safer, and the community is safer with everyone at home. This is how we flatten the curve of the virus and give our healthcare professionals the time they need.

Spread truth and compassion – not fear and misinformation. With any crisis, you’ll see rumors abound that have no basis in fact. Trust the experts and double check everything before you share it with others.

Lastly – please check in on your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Set up calls to touch base, online video chats to see each other, or even just write them a note and drop it in the mail.

Remember – we’re all in this together. Let’s look out for each other. That’s what communities like ours do best.

It’s been a wild few days. School closings. Limited access to public buildings. Even going to the grocery store can seem frightening.

I wanted to take a minute and just check in with everyone. How are you doing? Can I help with anything?

Drop me an email – hey@chasefortn.com – and let me know if I can help out with anything.

Remember – we’re all in this together.

As the number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnoses continues to rise, I wanted to lay out how this affects our community and what you can be doing.

This is not the typical seasonal flu. With an estimated 3.5% mortality and a vaccine months away at best, this virus is not one we need to take lightly or minimize. For now, we can’t beat this virus through a vaccine or other medicine. But we can beat it through our collective actions.

That’s where you can help. It’s called flattening the curve.

Take precautions such as washing your hands, minimizing travel, and keeping social interactions to a minimum. Put off any non-essential travel. Check in on your neighbors. Contact our state reps and urge them to take the right precautions now rather than delaying.

After you read this update, look through this trusted source – flattenthecurve.com. It’ll give you more background on the virus along with more actions you can take to help flatten the curve.

In short – be informed and helpful to those around you. The next few months will be hard, especially for the most high-risk people in our community.

We’re in this together. Let’s look out for each other. Let’s be good to one another. It’s what Tennesseans do best.