Tennessee Lookout

First photos from the Tennessee Press Association & @mtsuofficial.bsky.social 2026 Gubernatorial Forum with Democratic candidate and Memphis City Councilmember Jerri Green and independent candidates David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston. Photos by Lookout photojournalist John Partipilo.

I am no photographer but here's the first shot from inside the studio at the Tennessee Press Association and @mtsuofficial.bsky.social Gubernatorial Forum.

The @tennesseelookout.com is a proud member of the Tennessee Press Association and as a TPA board member, I am proud of our role in bringing this forum to life. Thanks to @mtsuofficial.bsky.social for its enthusiasm and professionalism.

Coming to you live from the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University, the Tennessee Press Association and MTSU 2026 Gubernatorial Forum.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to every state ahead of Election Day, expanding a long-standing practice that’s spurred concern this year among Democrats and voting rights advocates because of President Donald Trump’s push to influence elections.

From Senior Reporter @anitawadhwani.bsky.social: Tennessee is rejecting applications for driver’s licenses from immigrants authorized by the government to work and live in the United States, a shift in policy that could strip thousands of longtime license-holders of the ability to legally drive.

Tennessee blocks driver’s licenses for Dreamers, other immigrants with U.S. work permits tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/27/t... @tennesseelookout.com

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Republican of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District, who told the Lookout he is interested in an appointment to the U.S. Senate should Sen. Marsha Blackburn be elected governor, also said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is in the running.

A powerful perspective on book restrictions in @tennesseelookout.com : tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/26/w...

A new geological report shows Musk's Boring Company could cause sinkholes and groundwater contamintion as it burrows through Nashville. A member of the new "Subterranean...Authority" is worried about flooding by the Cumberland River. From @tennesseelookout.com: tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/27/t...

Former state Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro, a member of the Subterranean Transportation Infrastructure Coordinator Authority, said Monday he’s aware of a report that the Boring Company’s tunnel from downtown Nashville to the airport could cause sinkholes and groundwater contamination.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District hasn't held a town hall meeting since 2011 and last year that he would “never” hold a town hall, calling them “left-wing bait.” “He is not accessible. He is hiding from his constituents," says Democratic challenger Anna Golladay.

Rebecca Paul, Tennessee’s outgoing chief executive of the lottery education corporation told state officials she was optimistic revenue designated for college scholarships won’t keep falling. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social reports.

President Donald Trump’s 11th-hour campaign to intervene in California’s vote counting encountered its first resistance from federal courts on Monday, with appellate judges ruling against the effort. @jonshorman.bsky.social

ICYMI: Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District is one of the longest-held Republican seats in the country: a Democrat hasn't held it since 1855. Knoxville business owner and scientist Michaela Barrett is trying to change that next Tuesday.

COMMENTARY: "I know there is a boy in that county tonight who is going to need a book and the shelf he would have reached for is a little emptier than the one I had in Erin, Tennessee — and mine was not full." Poet Kabal Briar on recent book bans in Jefferson County, Tennessee.

TOMMOROW: Tennessee Press Association and @mtsuofficial.bsky.social will host the only statewide, fully public forum with Tennessee's gubernatorial candidates. Democrat Jerri Green and independents David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston will take part. 7 p.m.,link below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssl4...

More than 665,600 people cast their ballots as of Thursday, representing 13.85% of registered voters in Tennessee. The early voter turnout still lags behind 2018’s 8-day total of 810,056. From @cstephenson.bsky.social

Michaela Barnett, a Knoxville small business owner and scientist, is attempting to overturn more than a century of Republican domination in Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District by beating U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett in November.

A Tennessee Democratic lawmaker is calling for election officials to resolve complaints that voting machines are defaulting to candidates they didn’t want to select but stopped short of saying ballots are rigged.

Both Democratic and Republican candidates during the heated midterm election cycle have had to navigate deep voter resentment of the massive advanced computer server farm developments that will power artificial intelligence. @ashleymurray.bsky.social reports.

After a sometimes-bitter primary season, shared policy goals on affordability for Americans and accountability for the Trump administration have bonded the Democratic party’s left wing and its establishment factions, analysts say. From @fischler.bsky.social

Tennessee Republican Rep. Paul Sherrell is reiterating support for public hangings three years after giving a half-baked apology for calling for a return to “hanging from a tree” as a form of capital punishment.

Republican Charlie Hatcher and Democrat Chaz Molder clashed on President Donald Trump’s handling of international tariffs, but agreed on the importance of constituent services and an urgent need to reduce the cost of living during a Wednesday forum in Williamson County.

As Election Day approaches, top Democrats on the intelligence committees in Congress are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump will allege foreign interference to discredit unfavorable results.

Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction after voting rights advocates alleged that Homeland Security was sending armed agents to homes to question residents about their voter status.

Nashville Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles temporarily blocked Tennessee health officials from requiring immigration status checks of HIV-positive individuals enrolled in a healthcare safety-net program. From @anitawadhwani.bsky.social

After failed effort to execute Christa Pike, some Tennessee Republicans consider legislation to use electrocution or firing squads to replace lethal injection tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/22/t... @tennesseelookout.com

Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson confirmed this week he is considering sponsoring legislation in 2027 to make firing squads a method for putting people to death, even though one Democratic lawmaker called the practice “depraved.”

The Memphis City Council on Tuesday voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution calling for the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee National Guard from the city.

COMMENTARY: No candy for you! n two different instances this year, the Tennessee Department of Health has said it will refuse health care services without immigration verification. Can trick or treat be far behind? From editorial cartoonist John Cole.

The U.S. Department of Justice is intensifying its campaign against voter fraud with a spree of arrests in the final weeks before Election Day, an effort that voting rights advocates warn risks instilling fear among voters.

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $8 billion in new one-time payments to American farmers to help offset “temporary market disruptions” and high fuel costs.

Congressional candidates in newly redrawn Shelby County districts raise combined $4.6M in 90 days tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/21/c... @tennesseelookout.com @cstephenson.bsky.social

Candidates for Tennessee’s three newly drawn congressional seats that represent parts of Shelby County raised a combined $4.6 million in the 90 days leading up to October, campaign finance records show. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

The Clean Elections Commission says 17 voters deny giving qualifying contributions, some citing forged signatures story via @jimsmall.bsky.social

Independent candidates in four states are betting that broad dissatisfaction among voters and economic anxiety, combined with their distance from the national Democratic brand, will be enough to create breathing room for voters — including Trump voters — to seriously consider them.

A three-judge panel dismissed a case filed in 2025 by a group of parents who said Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act violates the constitution by shifting funds to unaccountable private schools that discriminate against students. Sam Stockard reports.

Rural housing development is especially high in Tennessee, where 148,000 acres of agricultural land was converted to urban and highly developed land use between 2001 and 2016 tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/20/a... @tennesseelookout.com

A federal program promises to pay for farmland preservation but few land owners are taking advantage.

Nashville CARES is attempting to block this measure. via @tennesseelookout.com tennesseelookout.com/2026/10/20/l...

In an Oct. 1 memo, the Tennessee Department of Health informed agencies serving low-income Tennesseans living with HIV/AIDS it will require verification of immigration status for many of the services provided through the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. From @anitawadhwani.bsky.social.

ICYMI: U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche pulled up to a Memphis warehouse for Friday press conference, accompanied by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and state Sen. Brent Taylor, to talk about the Memphis Safe Task.

Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats than wave elections this century.

Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats than wave elections this century.

While U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was visiting New Hampshire last week, GO-NORTH announced a new $11 million project aimed at strengthening the state’s emergency medical services. From @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

Tennessee state Sen. Janice Bowling, a 14-year GOP lawmaker from Tullahoma, says the Senate GOP caucus has “no basis” to expel her for endorsing independent gubernatorial candidate David Hatley instead of the Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn. --- @tennesseelookout.com

Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend.

Republican state Sen. Janice Bowling, in hot water with some colleagues after endorsing independent gubernatorial candidate David Hatley, said there's no basis to expel her from the Senate GOP Caucus and that opponents don't have the votes to do so.

As demonstrators at No Kings rallies in Tennessee talked about the importance of proactive voting, many continued to air complaints about Trump’s policies, including tariffs and the high cost of living, as grocery and gas prices continue to rise.