Roy Exum spoke about the Republican values of the Tennesseans in the Chattanoogan. A special election was held where Shane Reeves and Gayle Jordan were present.

Reeves is a respected businessperson from Murfreesboro. Jordan is a liberal and atheist activist. Reeves is Republican. Jordan is Democratic. Both people were looking for the District 14 seat in the state Senate, which opened up when Jim Tracy resigned from the position.

Tennessee’s District 14 has a deep red and mid-state county set of Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, and Rutherford. People in the Tennessean landscape know about the same-sex wedding approvals by Jordan several years ago.

Gay marriage and similar hot-button issues are important topics for the people of Tennessee.

Randy McNally, Tennessee’s Lt. Governor, said, “In my 40 plus years in Tennessee politics, I've seen few candidates as dangerous as Gayle Jordan. She is not just out of step with a majority of Tennessee on matters of policy, she is out of step on matters of values and faith.”

McNally pointed out that Jordan runs the Recovering from Religion organization, which he sees as at odds with the strong believers who happen to be many Tennesseans. He opined, “This is not the type of person we need in the Tennessee Senate,” speaking of Jordan.

Jordan is an attorney that runs a farm in Rutherford County and ran for the State seat in 2016 as a Democrat. This is not a new move in political life for Jordan. Of all Tennesseans, 80% identify as Christian based on a 2014 report.

“I just feel Gayle Jordan’s views are radical,” Reeves said. “They are out of touch with the district… I am a Christian and that is going to serve as a filter, serve as a moral compass, at how I look at things if I am fortunate enough to get elected.”

In the final tally of the recent, March 13, 2018 special election, Jordan lost and Reeves won the vote.

Photo Credits: Allevents