Inside Politics - NewsChannel 5 Plus Nashville

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell reflects on his first-term accomplishments, delivering tangible results for residents, and the challenges he aims to tackle if elected to a second term. He cites the strain on resources during the NES response to the recent ice storm, saying changes are needed: “I am encouraged by what I’m seeing, but I think there’s still some ways to go to fully restore public confidence. We are trying to be good and responsible partners (with NES)—and good partners hold one another accountable.” O’Connell also expresses concern over pre-emptive legislative bills granting the state increased authority over Nashville and Memphis, reducing local decision-making power. He reacts sharply to the GOP-controlled legislature’s redistricting—which split Nashville into three Republican-leaning districts—and to House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s April 24 comment on how he believes Nashville should be governed. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered another severe blow to the 1965 Voting Rights Act striking down protections against discrimination aimed at racial minority voters. After the ruling, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn tweeted a solid red map calling on the Tennessee legislature to redraw districts to ensure Republicans dominate every election.   Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson represents District 86 which covers Memphis and Shelby County. He says, "This is the only district that's in the entire state that is majority black and is Democratic that ensures representation for the people in our community. Representation they would not get otherwise because those would be all majority white districts. The fact that Marsha Blackburn who is running for governor of this state is proposing this, and other folks who are doing the similar thing, is really worrisome to the representation we deserve and that has been fought for. The reality of this is the use of racism, of bigotry, that created the need for District 9 in the first place have not disappeared. And our right to be able to choose a representative who understands our values, understands our culture, understands our dignity is extremely important. Now we are being told racism will not be viewed by the court, but racism can be used to take away, strip away our voting rights." Justin J. Pearson is now running for District 9 against incumbent Steve Cohen. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The State of Tennessee held its third execution since the three-year moratorium investigating the process of lethal injections. Lawyers and advocates are demanding greater transparency about the drugs used and their expiration dates. Harold Wayne Nichols was executed December 11th. Nichols' lawyer, Stephen Ferrell of Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee fought in court to obtain information about expiration dates of drugs used during lethal injection. This would give his client crucial guidance when choosing which method of execution to select. Lethal injection was chosen for Nichols. Given the prison system's history of non-compliance, Ferrell remained skeptical about the efficacy of the drugs use. "They say they are not expired, but don't want to give us a picture of the label with just the expiration date. The judge said that they could remove or cover up, redact all other information." Reverend Stacy Rector, Executive Director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to Death Penalty agrees, "If you read the law, the legislation passed several years ago, this Confidentiality Law that says that the public is not able to know where the drugs are procured or the names of the individuals participating in the executions. That's it. There is no more protected information. Never has been." Newschannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on Newschannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Cameron Sexton (R) gives us insight to the last bills passed during this legislative session.  Here are some of the main points. AIRPORTS- From the 9 member board of the Nashville Airport Authority, 6 state appointments and 3 local appointments. Sexton says, "We put in a lot of money, we have done a lot of things to help the airport, and so we are saying we want some picks on the board. The mayor still has picks, the governor and 2 Speakers have picks. When asked why change the Airport Authority when it is already successful? Sexton added, "It's not a power grab, I would say if you're investing $50, $100, $150 million dollars into something, wouldn't you want to have people on the board to make sure that your investment is doing well?" AFFORDABILITY- Sexton says that the state has temporarily reduced taxes several times, Cracked down on PBMs, struck down laws preventing hospitals from expanding and created workforce housing. Sexton says, "We are already an affordable state and will continue to be that way." SCHOOL VOUCHERS AND ESA- Although the state of Tennessee ranks 47th out of 50 states for student funding per capita, Sexton believes private schools with students who already attend private school are justified in receiving the $7530 Education Freedom Scholarship (an increase from last year from $7295) to go directly to pay a portion of private school tuition. The 3.2% increase would remain consistent with per-pupil base increase in the TISA formula, but less per student than what is given to private schools. When it comes to testing, public schools use TCAP, and was required for students using Education Savings Account money for private school, but without TCAP used, how will private schools show student competency? "The private schools are going to tell us what standardized test they are using. Because we want to know what that is. What I think we need to do is look at those tests, look at the TCAP and allow the public schools to use whichever national standardized test that they want to and that's fair... It would be a fascinating argument which they would choose." NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

District 32 Tennessee State Rep. Monty Fritts is running for Governor. He says frustration is what initially led him into politics. He believes God is calling him to run for the state's top job. Fritts is running against a US Senator and US Representative in the Republican Primary but said he expects to win. Fritts says, "My path to victory is my message is very different. I'll talk to anybody about the issues. We are a liberty and less government platform. That's a foreign concept to most of our congressional members. Most of them have embraced an every-growing budget for almost $40 trillion in debt federally. It's a government that over reaches its bounds constitutionally." Although he voted for President Trump 3 times, he doesn't agree with everything he says or does. "I think sometimes his are "twits" not "tweets"-when he says some of the vulgar things he says. They are unbecoming for a president."   NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tennessee State Senator Jeff Yarbro's takeaway from this current session, "We're seeing a legislature that is absolutely disconnected from the real concerns of Tennesseans. If you go talk to Republicans, Democrats, Independents in small towns, rural areas, suburbs or cities, they are concerned about rising gas prices, rising cost of everything, the difficulty of find healthcare, and this legislative body is not doing anything to address those issues! It's spending its time doing performative nonsense!" Yarbro continued, "Bill after bill after bill - What this legislature is doing is taking away power from citizens, away from local governments and it's frankly concentrating it in the executive branch, making the state government in charge of what ordinances can be enforced in cities- letting the TN Highway Patrol enforce laws rather than local police departments and that is a big shift."   NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+ Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Close friends of Middle Tennessee State University Professor of Middle East and Islamic History Sean Foley, including those who are analysts use the word "Nightmare" when asked about how the War in Iran is evolving. Foley says "First, this is a region that exports much of its energy through the Strait of Hormuz and that strait is effectively closed. And second, these are states that are being bombed. This includes Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, whose biggest city is Dubai. This is something that they have never encountered. This is a real war." Foley predicts Iran will not fold easily, "Every time we make a threat and suggest they've been degraded, they've been able to hit targets. Part of the reason is the technology they have been using. Like the Ukrainians and the Russians, they've been able to use drones in ways that have not been used before and ballistic missiles. And both have had enormous consequences." Foley also explains how prices for goods and raw materials we import from the Middle East will increase, which will be passed onto retail prices for not only American consumers but those in all other countries. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

132 books chosen by the Rutherford County Library Board are slated to be removed from the Children section of libraries. Library Director Luanne James refused to comply protecting public access. Rutherford County Library Board Chair Cody York targeted books related to gender identity, LGBTQIA+ representation, characters of color, depictions of violence, social change, and even book banning itself. The board voted to relocate those books to the adult section and to strip the library’s policies linked to the American Library Association. Luanne James faces disciplinary action March 30th for insubordination. Vice President of the Rutherford County Library Alliance believes James was defending both the First Amendment and community values, stating: "Do you want your kid walking through the adult section with children books that are right next to adult books like '50 Shades of Grey'? Or some other materials we really don't want our kids looking at? She (James) is protecting everyone in our community and argue she is protecting everyone across this country by standing up and saying No, I will not violate my own personal morals and I will not violate the Constitution of the United States." Lambert also asserted that moving children books to the adult section constitutes a book ban under its legal definition — by denying children the chance to browse. "Children books written specifically for children, needs to be in the Children Section. "NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. You can see the show in its entirety at https://www.newschannel5.com/plusJust click on the Inside Politics icon to view recent shows. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Randy McNally, 82 Year old and Lieutenant Governor will not seek re-election to his Senate seat. McNally compares today's political divide as Democrat vs. Republican while early 80's were mostly rural vs. urban. He believes bridging the gap requires reaching across the aisle. "One of the most important things I learned early in my political career was when I was in the house and running... I went door to door and found people were more interested in what they had to say to me than what I had to say to them...so to be able to listen to different people and a lot of times you found common ground in doing that. Also treat people with respect and when you can, help them. Just because they have a "D" or an "R" after their name or urban or rural or whatever, it doesn't matter, if you can help them with an issue, try to help them. " McNally also recounted his role in "Operation Rocky Top" an FBI covert corruption and bribery investigation involving lobbyists and elected officials. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn has gathered interviews and signatures from 400 families who allege that the Tennessee Department of Child Services (DCS) is systematically negligent and failures of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when caring for children in state custody. She has now filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Behn argues that DCS needs a complete overhaul. "I want to give a lot of credit to the legislators who have perennially filed legislation to hold them accountable for their negligence. But we are at a tipping point. Because I ran for Congress, I became a person that a lot of Tennesseans decided to reach out to because perhaps they looked at me as a fighter. Throughout the past few months, we collected dozens of testimonials from families alleging systematic negligence, and structural displacement of kids with disabilities, which we know is a federal issue. And these families felt like they have not been heard — not been heard by their state legislators or by their local leaders, so I decided as an organizer to move forward with the process of filing this complaint with the Department of Justice." Behn is also looking ahead politically — she plans to run again for State Representative in District 51. During this legislative session, she continues to champion her “Pot for Potholes” proposal and promote “Homes Not Hedge Funds,” following recent policy shifts: President Trump signed executive orders downgrading marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III and imposing stricter limits on private equity firms, barring them from owning more than 100 single-family homes. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.  See the video on our website 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not move forward with a detention center in Lebanon, Wilson County. Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto lays out the timeline, beginning with a call from a reporter."Maybe this is a thing that we can try to figure out more about," he said. Hutto, along with other county officials and concerned citizens, began their search for answers. Hutto and Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell met with the senior counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. DHS confirmed they were looking at a facility in Wilson County, primarily in Lebanon. Hutto was concerned about the footprint of the facility so close to schools, churches and daycares."The safety factor was very much a problem. Then the workforce, the 16,000 people that would be detained there. They would need 4,000+ employees to be able to manage it. I'm the second lowest unemployment county in the state of Tennessee so I don't have the workforce," he said. Hutto said he was satisfied with the result."We saw no advantage to have this in the city. State, local and federal leaders listened. Even the people at DHS. They listened to what we said our community wanted."   NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During a spring rainstorm in May of 2025, The Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to what was supposed to be a targeted effort to capture the worst of the worst illegal immigrant criminals. But what NewsChannel 5 Investigates reporter Levi Ismail found from going through 50 hours of law enforcement video may surprise you. "People were driving 18 miles, 20 miles over the speed limit (on city streets) were given warnings, to just move on with their day. Meanwhile someone who got pulled over for having their high beams on was taken away in handcuffs even though they presented documentation for their asylum documents. There was definitely a discrepancy there and the only difference we could make out was the fact that there was a racial component there." Ismail showed several instances of THP officers grilling minority drivers and passengers about where they were born, their social security number, and asking if they were in this country legally? ICE agents would step in if the driver or passengers were a minority or spoke Broken English.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After snow and ice melted and power was restored to most of Nashville-Davidson County, Metro Council Members Emily Benedict (D–District 7) and Courtney Johnston (R–District 26) filed a resolution calling for the Electric Power Board of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County to terminate Nashville Electric Service (NES) CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin. Both council members represent districts that endured multiple days without power. They say the city’s preparation for the winter storm, as well as the handling of restoration efforts, was poorly managed — and that NES leadership must be held accountable. Benedict pointed to reduced tree trimming earlier this year as one of several contributing factors. "It's a complete failure of leadership for some time from vegetation management. There's a lot of things in the resolution that speak to the problems that led to the problem that we have." Johnston echoed the call for change. "People were affected in a very serious way and people want to see that we are listening to them and they want action taken now. The trust in the person leading this organization that is supposed to be providing reliable power to them has eroded." NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tennessee State Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari gives her response to the State of the State address on February 2nd.  Governor Lee says our economy is thriving, but Akbari says the cost of electricity, housing and groceries are higher than it's ever been. "About 50% of those who live in the state are really struggling to even pay their regular bills." She hopes that our state can keep up with our 8 surrounding states when it comes to legislation that helps the average Tennessean. Topics discussed: to greatly reduced or eliminate the grocery tax to offset higher prices of food, additional funding for our public schools, helping our farmers after devastating tariffs halted or slowed selling their crops abroad, immigration laws, and waiting for data on public vs. private school metrics before doubling the Education Freedom Scholarships to 40,000 instead of 20,000 at $7295 per student going directly to private schools.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton lays out the priorities of the Republican Super Majority. Main bills will address the budget, infrastructure, 3-strike legislation to the criminal code for career criminals, expedited specialized teaching degrees for K-6 grades as well as tougher immigration laws. "We need more data, more transparency about how many illegals we have in the state. There's a whole host of bills dealing with that." Sexton continues, "What costs are associated? ...Hospitals? Prisons? Education? How do we determine that?" Sexton has met with Stephen Miller, US Homeland Security Advisor at the White House for several meetings. Sexton remarks, "They see Tennessee as a leader. They talk to other elected officials, they talk to the governors, and they talk to other speakers and say "well TN is doing this..." and so I think they feel very happy about how TN is moving." This program was recorded Jan. 22, 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In October 2025, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent out a letter to all 181 public libraries calling for an immediate age appropriateness review of all materials in their juvenile/children's sections. While some libraries complied, others had questions about censorship and first amendment issues. In the wake of some school districts banning classic literature and and books about gender identity, some public libraries were looking for futher guidance. "The goal of the letter, Secretary Hargett stated, "was to make sure our book collections were curated properly according to their own community standards and be able to provide a report back that they did do that." The deadline stated in the letter is January 19, 2026. With about half the libraries sending in their lists, Secretary Hargett updates what are some of the books on those lists and what libraries are going to do with them. Secretary Hargett also answers questions about the 2026 election year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the recent military action in Venezuela, what is America's current approach to foreign policy?  Thomas A. Schwartz, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University Professor of Political Science and US Foreign Relations joins host Ben Hall as they discuss how this current action by the Trump administration is different from the Cold War and H.W. Bush's approach in the first Iraqi War.  Schwartz compares Bush engaging with the United Nations to sanction a united coalition under UN law to invade Iraq while Trump "doesn't worry about international law, getting international approval and just acts on the basis of the president's sense of national interest."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A comment about a private Facebook post after Charlie Kirk's death causes a UT professor to be suspended. Tamar Shirinian, M.A., Ph.D. thought the University of Tennessee at Knoxville would protect Freedom of Speech as they had done for other employees and protest groups in the past including controversial words spoken by Charlie Kirk earlier in the year. The school is taking action to fire her after public officials have called for her termination. Shirinian's lawyer, Robb Bigelow thinks there is a double standard when it comes to freedom of speech. Shirinian says she has heard from colleagues around the world who are concerned. "This could happen to any body because if you have opinions that the government of Tennessee in someway, doesn't like, you could lose your job at a government institution. That's scary to a lot of people. It's terrifying to my colleagues across the country and frankly across the world." Inside Politics is a half-hour current events show that centers around the news of the week hosted by Ben Hall.  The format allows for a deeper dive into a specific topic or topics with news significance.  The show airs weekly Friday evenings at 7pm on Newschannel 5+ and throughout the weekend, then is posted to our website and is also available as a podcast.   We record the show Friday morning or the later part of the week.  Newschannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political Strategist Tucker Karnes, Public Affairs for Cooley Public Strategies breaks down the highly contested TN-07 Congressional Race.  Karnes joins host Ben Hall to analyze the dramatic numbers from the special election comparing them to the November 5, 2024 race between Democrat Megan Barry and Republican Mark Green.  With Megan Barry pulling in over 120,000 votes just a year earlier, the Aftyn Behn campaign's primary mission was mobilizing Democratic voters. What other critical factors contributed to a 13 point swing from Republicans in 2024 to 2025?  Which counties delivered the biggest impact?  Will this voting pattern reshape the 2026 mid-terms? What does this mean for District 5's U.S. House seat up in 2026?    Newschannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2.  Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3   as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc.  The episode will air throughout the weekend on Newschannel 5+  Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fiercely competitive TN-07 Congressional race with Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps is underway. But 4 other names will be on the ballot for the General Election, December 2nd. We continue our coverage by introducing you to 3 of the 4 Independent candidates who want your vote to represent District 7 in Washington. Teresa "Terri" Christi, Jon Thorp and Bobby Dodge join host Ben Hall to tell us why you should vote for an Independent candidate. Robert James Sutherby declined our invitation due to a scheduling conflict. All candidates on set believe that most Americans align with their values but Independents are under represented. The 3 candidates tend to skew conservative, but each candidate have distinct differences. All three candidates are disillusioned by a 2 party system and feel those parties have lost touch with constituent issues. Plus hear one candidate's issue with PAC support that he didn't ask for or knew about and who may be behind it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.