As we ramp up for the elections of 2020, we should take a moment to reflect on elections past. My personal experiences in the 2018 midterm election opened my eyes to the reality of the hyperpartisanship that currently grips our nation. I was the Democratic nominee for Tennessee’s First Congressional district -- a region characterized both by its complex mix of suburban and rural geography (more on that later) and by its seemingly unflinching support for the Republican party (no non-Republican candidate has held the seat since 1881). What I learned during my run was that, unfortunately, the leadership of today’s political parties are all too willing to undermine candidates who lack what they see as the required ideological purity. The Democratic party in particular has inculcated the premise of a Red State-Blue State dynamic and has adopted the position that much of rural America is a lost cause. I disagree, fundamentally, with this position.  I know that the voters...(Read Full Article)