Inside Politics - NewsChannel 5 Plus Nashville

This November 3, 2026, is Election Day. This year, two Independent Party candidates continue to build momentum in their campaigns, muddying the field for Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green. Conservative-leaning businessman David Hatley has loaned his campaign $7 million for political advertising. Hatley says, "I think the polling we're got internally shows the temperature is a different climate right now. You know, everywhere we're going, our crowds are increasing, the polls move a lot." Hatley is vowing full transparency for the state budgeting process including electing a state auditor. Liberal-leaning but fiscally conservative candidate Lauren Pinkston believes the state budget isn't productive. Pinkston says, "there's a lot of inefficiencies and waste there for sure, but when it comes to tax in Tennessee, I have zero interest in a statewide income tax." Pinkston says she is interested in repealing the grocery tax to keep more money in Tennesseans' pockets. She also proposes a data dividend funded by high-producing data companies operating in Tennessee. Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot Nashville 28: over the air channel 28, Xfinity/Comcast 1028, DIRECTV Ch. 28, AT&T, CDE Lightband Ch. 21, DTC Communications Ch. 28 and other cable providers. Stream it live through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at:https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Inside Politics we have the Republican and Democratic nominees for TN-07. Matt Van Epps and Darden Copeland both want your vote November 3rd to be your congressman for District 7.Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot Nashville 28: over the air channel 28, Xfinity/Comcast 1028, DIRECTV Ch. 28, AT&T, CDE Lightband Ch. 21, DTC Communications Ch. 28 and other cable providers.Stream it live through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at:https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSupport the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Inside Politics we interview candidates from the hotly contested District 9 Congressional Race. Democrat Justin J. Pearson and Republican Brent Taylor tells us what sets them apart from their opponent. Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot Nashville 28: over the air channel 28, Xfinity/Comcast 1028, DIRECTV Ch. 28, AT&T, CDE Lightband Ch. 21, DTC Communications Ch. 28 and other cable providers. Stream it live through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at:https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSupport the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside Politics has invited Marsha Blackburn on the program several times during this election cycle. She has refused or not responded to requests for interviews. Conservative Political Commentator Steve Gill says Blackburn has also not responded to his requests for interview. Gill has insight into the Blackburn campaign and her strategy of not engaging in public forums or unscripted interviews. Gill says during the primary election she didn't get the results she hoped for, "She sat on a huge name ID lead at the beginning, squandered a 50 point lead down to a 10 point win, got 43% in a very contested Republican primary. She's doing the same thing now. She's not gonna debate, she's not gonna really engage on a lot of the issues. And frankly, if I was her team, I would be very concerned that the issues she had staked out- support for AI data centers, flock cameras, moving nuclear waste from Nevada to Tennessee. Those are 80/10 issues opposed to her viewpoint. And I think you're gonna see Jerri Green, I think you're gonna see David Hatley taking advantage of those." Gill also calls Blackburn's key consultant Ward Baker, the clear driving force in not only her campaign, but in her administration should she become governor- running PACs that support her, and shifting money from her Senate side to the Governor's race side.  Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TN-04 Congressional District nominee Victoria Broderick says she got into politics after realizing that Tennessee is abandoned by a lot of politicians, and she says District 4 deserves better than being treated as an afterthought. Broderick says DesJarlais' voting record in Congress has hurt the constituents of District 4. "You know you look at the Big Beautiful Bill which is something that he was a big proponent of, big supporter of, that negatively impacts District 4 in a real way because we have district counties in this district where 50% of the children are on Medicaid which is TennCare, and that's not okay. That's not fiscally responsibility because we're supposed to take care of children and seniors who are also going to be affected by these cuts and then if we look at just his track record as with the war in Iran he is uniquely positioned to push back against this, uniquely positioned to say that I'm not okay with this because it's raising fertilizer prices and diesel prices and those are things that negatively affect a rural agricultural district, like district 4. Watch full shows Fridays 7pm on The Spot 28: over the air channel 28, Xfinity/Comcast 1028, DIRECTV Ch. 28, AT&T, CDE Lightband Ch. 21, DTC Communications Ch. 28 and other cable providers. Stream it live through NewsChannel 5 Now app through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.Available Fridays at 7:30pm Central Time at:https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politics "Support the show: https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/inside-politicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.