Nashville attorney has far exceeded Democratic opponents in fundraising, endorsements

U.S. Senate Democrats are wading into the open Tennessee Senate race, backing Nashville attorney James Mackler over other announced Democrats.

Mackler has been in the race far longer and has raised significantly more money than either Marquita Bradshaw, a Memphis environmentalist, or Diana Onyejiaka, a Nashville-based consultant and professor.

“James Mackler served our country with courage and integrity, and he will bring those values to the U.S. Senate,” Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “He will work tirelessly on behalf of Tennesseans to protect pre-existing conditions coverage and health care access in rural communities, cut red tape to help Tennessee’s small businesses, and take on the special interests that have corroded our democracy and hurt Tennessee families. In the Senate, James will be a voice for all Tennesseans, and we are proud to support him in this race.”

The group spent nearly $30 million during the 2018 cycle.

Mackler, an Army veteran, previously ran for Senate in 2017, before dropping out after former Gov. Phil Bredesen entered the race, which he ultimately lost to Republican Marsha Blackburn. Bredesen was quick to endorse Mackler when the attorney decided to run again, this time for retiring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s seat.

Bredesen’s loss demoralized some Tennessee Democrats, given his millions of dollars in spending, past statewide electoral success and popularity advantage over Blackburn.

The DSCC has endorsed several candidates in competitive primaries this cycle, frustrating progressives in Iowa, Colorado and North Carolina. In the open Kansas race, the DSCC endorsed a former Republican lawmaker for the Democratic nomination.

The Tennessee chapter of Indivisible, a progressive group established in the wake of Trump’s election, is planning debates in each of the state’s nine congressional districts, with local groups on board in six districts already. According to a memo distributed by the group, the forums would be held beginning in May, after the end of the state legislative session and before the August primary.

“With two black women running for a statewide federal office for the first time in Tennessee history, it’s important that as an organization we use our white privilege resources to elevate the profiles of candidates of color,” the Indivisible memo said.

Melanie Tomlyn with Indivisible of Nashville and Middle Tennessee said she was not surprised by the DSCC's endorsement.

"However, in 2020, this Senate race is about the Tennessee grassroots and will not be dictated by outside national organizations putting their fingers on the scale," she said.



Mackler campaign manager Dave Hoffman said they had not been invited to any primary debate.

“They’re free to invite us,” he said.

Mackler said he met with Democratic leadership in Washington and most of the Democratic caucus ahead of the endorsement.

“It says that the DSCC recognizes that I'm the right person to protect preexisting conditions coverage and health care access in rural communities, take on special interests that have corroded our democracy and fight for Tennesseans,” Mackler said.

On the Republican side, former ambassador and Trump fundraiser Bill Hagerty and Vanderbilt surgeon Manny Sethi are among the candidates vying for the job. Hagerty has the support of Trump and top Senate Republicans.