Gloria Johnson announces U.S. Senate campaign
State Rep. Gloria Johnson, a Knoxville Democrat who narrowly avoided expulsion from the House as a member of the “Tennessee Three,” is announcing a bid for the U.S. Senate next year.
Johnson thanked state Republicans for the “gift” of targeting the Democratic lawmakers for mounting a gun protest in the chamber after the mass shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School in April.
“I think it will help as we run this race,” she told the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The Republican incumbent is Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood.
“While Senator Blackburn is working hard to fight back against Biden’s woke agenda, state Rep. Johnson is pushing that divisive, destructive agenda here in Tennessee,” campaign spokeswoman Abigail Sigler said in a statement. “Tennesseans deserve a United States senator who is committed to fighting for our conservative values.”
Here’s the release from the Johnson campaign:
Knoxville, TN — Today, Gloria Johnson announced she is running U.S. Senate be-cause Tennessee deserves a Senator who will fight for working families not special interests and D.C. politicians. The campaign will be co-chaired by Representative Justin J. Pearson and Senator Charlane Oliver.
Gloria Johnson has dedicated her life to serving the people of Tennessee, fighting for justice and standing tall for all who have been left out, left behind, or left without a voice. As a member of the “Tennessee Three” she demanded Republican politicians pass gun safety measures to prevent shootings like the one at The Covenant School.
An excerpt of Gloria’s remarks in Knoxville:
“We need somebody that’s gonna care about Tennessee families and lifting them up and making sure that it’s them that we’re trying to cut costs and not cutting costs for corporations and billionaires. We’ve got to make sure that Tennessee families are earning a good wage, have access to affordable health care, have great schools for their kids, and can live in dignity and be able to retire. Marsha is doing none of those things. We need somebody whose focus is going to be with Tennessee families.”
Today, Gloria will be holding events across the state. She kicked off the campaign in Knoxville near Central High School where she was a special education teacher and saw firsthand the impact of gun violence when Ryan McDonald, a student, was shot and killed in 2008. In Nashville, she will be joined by Representative Justin Jones in front of the Woman Suffrage Monument in Centennial Park, and she will end her day in Memphis at the I Am a Man Plaza, joined by Representative Justin J. Pearson.
Find out more about Gloria’s campaign at www.votegloriajohnson.com.
