By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — It’s 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, and a dozen locals gather in the basement of the County Building. Two dozen blue buttercream cupcakes sit nearby as everyone stands for the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s the first official meeting of the newly re-organized Moore County Democratic Party and the first time in three years that such a meeting has even been possible. The local party disbanded in 2022.
Not only is this a milestone for Lynchburg, but it’s also part of a statewide first. In May, the Tennessee Democratic Party announced that — for the first time in nearly 20 years — Democratic Party organizations now exist in all 95 counties.
Locally, treasurer Byron Comp II, secretary Iris Brown, and acting chairperson Vivian Ervin stand before the group, asking for volunteers to step into the role of permanent chair. No one steps forward.
Small-town politics can get personal, especially in a conservative stronghold inside a supermajority state in one of the reddest regions in the country. No one seems eager to wear that target on their back.
That might sound like hyperbole until you consider Saturday’s top news story.
Overnight in Minnesota, two state Democratic officials were shot in their suburban homes. Former House Speaker and State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot and remain in critical condition.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the incident as a “politically motivated assassination.” President Trump also issued a statement, saying, “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.”
During the meeting, the group discusses plans to attend the No Kings rally later that day in Winchester. Protests are scheduled across nearby counties, but not in Lynchburg.
“You’re not alone.”
Nathan Higdon, Vice Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party, has driven over 140 miles from Blount County to offer encouragement.
Over 64 percent of Moore County voters cast ballots for Donald Trump in the last election. Nearly 35 percent voted for Kamala Harris. But Democrats have gained ground here. In the 2020 presidential cycle, 81 percent voted for Trump with just 16 percent voting for Jor Biden. Thats a 19 percentage point swing. But even if the numbers were more lopsided, there’s still hope, Higdon tells the group.
“Even if Moore County went 80/20 for Republicans, that still means one in every five people you run into votes like you. That changes it, right?” he asks. “One in five people you meet thinks the way you think. You’re not alone.”
But they do feel alone — and wary of speaking up. When I ask to interview them about what it’s like being the minority in a small Southern town, they agree — but only if I don’t use names.
One student shares that classmates called her a “dirty socialist” for voicing her political beliefs at school. Another says he only knows one other person at Jack Daniel’s willing to admit they’re a Democrat.
A grandfather tells me about his fifth-grade grandson being bullied at recess for voting for Kamala in the school’s mock election.
“We know kids usually echo what their parents are saying,” he says.
A young woman explains that, as someone of childbearing age, she fears being jailed for having a medically necessary abortion or miscarriage.
“I just feel like I have to speak up. I don’t want to bring a child into this America,” she says.
A father shares that his gay daughter now lives abroad.
“She won’t ever move back here. Not to live. And she barely wants to visit us,” he says.
A queer woman describes the fear she carries every time she and her fiancée go shopping in nearby Tullahoma.
“It’s horrifying. I have anxiety about it every time we go out,” she says.
Another man recounts his hesitation about placing a Harris/Walz sign in his front yard during the 2024 election.
“I put it out. The next morning, I pulled it up. During the last week of the election, I thought, this is the moment. And I kept it out.”
As they finish, their voices echo with a single refrain. It’s a small crowd, but more than half have shared first-hand experiences of being made to feel “less than” in their own hometown — simply because of their politics.
“Just because you’re a Democrat doesn’t mean you’re a bad person,” one says. “Just because you believe everyone deserves equal rights, the right to choose to live how they want — that doesn’t make you a bad person. Everybody should have the right to live their life how they want.”
Tennessee in the Spotlight
Democrats in rural communities like Lynchburg across the state may have a unique opportunity to roar louder than expected this election cycle — thanks in part to the sudden resignation of Congressman Mark Green.
In early June, Green, a Republican Representative and Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his plans to resign from Congress after votes wrap on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to accept a private-sector position. All political eyes will now be on Tennessee as the special election to replace him will serve as a kind of bellwether for the state of rural politics.
While cities like Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville reliably lean blue, Higdon reminds the group that rural voices will be essential if Tennessee Democrats hope to chip away at the state’s supermajority.
“So we’ll need all hands on deck,” he says. “I think we can actually do it — but I’m going to need all y’all to help as much as you can, where you can.”
To learn more about the Moore County Democratic Party, email demsofmc@gmail.com or connect via Facebook. The group meets the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. at the County Building. The next meeting is scheduled for July 12. •
About The Lynchburg Times
The Lynchburg Times is an independent, woman-owned newspaper rooted in the heart of southern middle Tennessee. Led by a Tulane-educated journalist with over two decades of experience covering this region, we shine a light on the people, politics, and cultural pulse of a changing South. From breaking news to slow storytelling, we believe local journalism should inform, empower, and preserve what makes this place unique. Supported by readers and community partners, we’re proud to be part of the new Southern narrative – one story at a time. [Support us here.]