Justin Kanew, a film writer and producer from Williamson County and past contestant on the television show "The Amazing Race," says he's running as a Democrat in 2018 for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.

It's a long-shot bid in Tennessee's heavily Republican 7th Congressional District.

But Kanew said he feels driven to step up in the ongoing battle over health care to fight the alternative proposal pushed by President Donald Trump to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

"It's a cruel bill and we need as many people as possible in Congress that are are willing to fight against something like this," he said of Republicans' alternative health care plan. "This is exactly the kind of thing that shows there are people putting corporations and the wealthy ahead of the people of Tennessee."

Kanew, who says education, jobs and criminal justice are his other top priorities, is the first Democrat to formally announce a campaign in Tennessee's 7th District. He'll need to win the Democratic primary next August before he can challenge Blackburn in November 2018.

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Kanew, 38, has lived in Tennessee just one year. His family moved from Los Angeles to the College Grove area of Williamson County, an area he calls a "special place with special people."

Kanew, who hosts a politics podcast, currently works independently after writing and producing at the comedy entertainment production company National Lampoon's.

To some, Kanew is better known as a contestant in Seasons 15 and 18 of the TV show "The Amazing Race" — the reality CBS series in which two teams race against each other finding clues as they travel foreign countries.

Blackburn has never faced a serious threat from a Democrat during her eight previous races for the seat, winning all her 7th District races with at minimum two-thirds of the vote. She's expected to win next year as well.

"We're all better off when there's two sides of the coin," Kanew countered. "She's been meeting little resistance for the last 16 years. She's been an entrenched incumbent and there didn't seem to be anyone stepping up. I felt the call.

"In my eyes, this race isn't about left versus right, it's about right versus wrong," he said. "While I will have a 'D' next to my name, I hope in the end that people realize that 'D' stands for decency more than anything else."

Primaries for next year's congressional races are next August ahead of Election Day in November.

Reach Joey Garrison 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.