Over this week, as we’ve waited for the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee to consider the challenge to the outcome of the Republican primary for county mayor, a Chattanooga Times Free Press deep-dive into voter data shows us exactly what we all already instinctively know: For all the braying we all do over partisan red and blue politics here and nationally, when it comes down to shading in the circle beside candidate names, we vote our hearts. Because we can.
All of us who care about the future of our country, state, county and schools can – and will – vote to try to ensure we get the best possible leaders to represent us. If that means voting for a Democrat when we lean Republican, or voting for a Republican when we lean Democratic, so be it.
The somewhat derogatory term for that voting wiggle is “crossover” voting. The more correct and pleasing description is “democracy” – voting as we want to because voting is our right.
Former Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, who plays his political chips close to the vest and does not identify with any party, summed it up best: “I’m an unrepentant crossover voter. You vote for the candidate and not for the party. I’m surprised it’s an issue.”
Littlefield voted in the 2012 and 2016 Republican primaries and the 2020 Democratic primary. We have long thought there are more of us like Littlefield than not – locally or nationally. We believe there are few of us who’ve not made similar shifts through the years and elections cycles as we weighed what we viewed as the strengths and weaknesses of those seeking to represent us.