Here in the 9th District of Tennessee, which makes up most of the city of Memphis, progressive Democrats are celebrating the nomination of
Steve Cohen for U.S. Congress. Steve Cohen was a progressive in the Tennessee General Assembly since before it was cool, and Tennessee hasn't sent a real progressive to Congress since Al Gore.
Memphis is a solidly Democratic city, and it's an assumption that the candidate who wins the Democratic primary wins the seat. But this year, there is an independent candidate running against the Democratic nominee who stands a chance of splitting the Democratic vote.
His name is Jake Ford, and his brother is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Harold Ford Jr.
Steve Cohen is a strong progressive Democrat who deserves netroots support. He has been fighting for progressive causes in the Tennessee Senate for twenty years. He is exactly the sort of candidate we want in Congress, if for no other reason than to get him on C-SPAN. Getting him elected to Congress has been a long, uphill fight, and as you will see below, we need your help in making it through the home stretch.
Harold Ford Sr. won this seat in 1974. His son, Harold Ford Jr., beat Steve Cohen in the 1996 Democratic primary and still holds the seat today. Joe Ford Jr., Harold Jr.'s cousin, ran against Steve Cohen in last week's Democratic primary and lost. And now Steve must face Jake Ford in the general election. The Fords have controlled our seat for thirty-two years, and they aren't giving it up without a fight.
I am Jake Ford and I am a lifelong Democrat running as an
Independent for the 9th Congressional District seat. If I am
elected, I will vote with the Democratic Caucus in the Congress
and support all other Democratic candidates who are running in the State of Tennessee. I chose not to participate in the democratic primary on August 3, 2006 because I am running as an Independent Candidate.
[Jake Ford for Congress]
All other Democratic candidates except Steve Cohen, that is.
The Ford family has a core of dedicated supporters who know how to get out the vote and a bloc of voters who will vote for absolutley anyone named Ford.
Roderic Ford won the Democratic primary in the Circuit Court clerk's race, with a comfortable 53 percent of the vote. He'll face the Republican incumbent Jimmy Moore in the August election.
Why should I be surprised by that, you say? Don't the Fords always do well in Memphis elections?
Normally, I'd have to agree. But Roderic isn't one of those Fords!
That's right. He's not related to the famous Ford political family, at least not unless you start tracing his roots back to Adam and Eve.
"I've never heard of him," said Shelby County Commissioner Joe Ford. "I don't know who he is. He's no kin to us."
[Blake Fontenay]
Roderic Ford never campaigned, raised no money, never attended a single candidate forum, and still recieved 61,244 votes in the Shelby County general election out of nearly 140,000.
The 9th District Democratic primary was crowded with 15 other Democrats, and the vote was split among them, with Cohen solidly in the lead. But in the final two weeks, the race got ugly.
First, there was push-polling from the Ed Stanton campaign. Then came a television advertisement from Julian Bolton which was forthrightly anti-Semetic. And finally, in what has got to be the most perplexing political stunt Memphis has ever seen, Emily's List sent out a huge lit drop attacking Steve Cohen for dubious offenses on behalf of Nikki Tinker, the only female in the race.
This was a strange attack coming from Emily's List, considering that if Emily's List had done their homework, they would have not only seen Cohen's strong pro-choice record, but also that Nikki Tinker's donor list reads like a who's who of Shelby County Republicans.
Egalia from Tennessee Guerilla Women delivered an eloquent rebuke to Emily's List:
State Senator Steve Cohen always comes down solidly on the side of Choice. Given his consistently progressive voting record, one can only surmise that for Emily's List - gender does indeed trump progressive credentials.
Nikki Tinker may possibly be almost as progressive as Steve Cohen, but we doubt it, and unlike Tinker, Cohen has a very well-documented record of supporting the full spectrum of progressive values. If politicos have taught us anything, they have taught us that talk is dirt cheap. I see no reason to abandon one of the most progressive elected officials
this state has ever seen simply because of gender and/or race.
As much as I want more women in office, as much as I want more racial minorities in office, gender and race do not trump progressive credentials.
[Tennessee Guerilla Women]
The Ford family has dominated Memphis politics for thirty years. There is no branch of Memphis, Shelby County, or Tennessee government without a Ford in it. Their electoral dominance has severely weakened the Shelby County Democratic Party, because their voting strength makes it next to impossible to get real progressive Democrats elected in what should be a Democratic bullpen. Memphis and Shelby County could be home to
a farm team of strong Democratic candidates, but instead we've become a launching pad for the Ford family legacy.
There is a very real concern that yet another Ford could take the seat, or worse, the Republican could win our solidly Democratic congressional seat.
With Thursday's primary election over, the real battle for Tennessee's District 9 congressional seat is about to begin, and a member of the Ford family could change the dynamics in the race.
It will be a three-way battle between Democrat Steve Cohen, Republican Mark White, and the candidate who could have a huge impact on the outcome, Independent Jake Ford.
Ford, the son and brother of a congressman, is seen by many as a very stong candidate.
Friday, White told Action News 5 that Ford has some heavy political help, and acknowledged that having Ford in the race could help his campaign.
"That's a real possibility, but we don't know," he said. "We're going after the entire community with our message, and hopefully we'll take away as many votes as anyone else."
Many political pundits believe if the independent Ford helps White, his campaign can only take votes away from Steve Cohen.
[WMC TV]
Steve Cohen needs your support. Here's how you can help:
1. Recommend this diary, link to it in an open thread or diary rescue, email it to a friend, and help us get the word out.
2. Donate to the Steve Cohen campaign.
3. If you live in the Memphis area, volunteer.
4. Send an email to Harold Ford Jr. and to his campaign and demand that he support the Democratic nominee in the 9th District race.
Harold Ford Jr. has so far chosen to remain aloof from the race, but Steve Cohen has already endorsed him for U.S. Senate and he needs to return the favor for a united Democratic ticket. Steve's Democratic primary opponent, Joe Ford Jr., has already endorsed Steve Cohen the Democrat over Jake Ford the independent.
On behalf of the Memphis liberal blogosphere, thank you for taking the time to learn about our little predicament. We each have our own blogs, but you can find us all at The 'Cue.