In 2016, Gayle Jordan ran for the Tennessee State Senate in District 14, just south of Nashville. This was a deeply red district, so it wasn’t surprising that Jordan didn’t even come close. She lost by a 50-point margin.
That said, it was a story that she was even in the race for two reasons: Democrats usually don’t bother putting forward any candidates for this seat, and Jordan wanted to be a progressive alternative. She was also an open atheist, serving as the executive director for Recovering from Religion.
I thought the story of her political career ended there. But last November, a year after the election, Donald Trump nominated the winner of that race, Jim Tracy, to serve as the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office.
Tracy resigned from the State Senate to take on the new role, and there’s now a special election to fill his seat.
Naturally, Jordan is throwing her hat into the ring once again. She explained on Facebook last month:
Why do this again? Why return to a race where I experienced a 50-point defeat and expose myself to that again?
Because Tennessee is in dire need of compassionate rational leadership, someone with a big voice and a thick skin, someone who isn’t afraid to rise up, speak out, and push back against what the good ol boys dish out.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
