NASHVILLE -- Two Hamilton County Democrats who are respectively challenging U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Tennessee House Rep. Greg Martin, both Republicans, in the Nov. 8 general election share more in common than being members of the same political party and holding similar political views.
Allison Gorman, the Democratic nominee from Chattanooga in Tennessee House District 26, is vying with Hixson's Martin, who while serving on the Hamilton County Commission was appointed by colleagues to the seat to replace then-Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, a political consultant and vendor who resigned in March after pleading guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud involving Tennessee taxpayer-funded constituent mail accounts.
Meanwhile, Gorman's daughter, Meg Gorman also of Chattanooga, is running against Fleischmann, an Ooltewah attorney, in a 2022 rematch of their race two years ago, which Fleischmann easily won.
It's been a difficult climb for Democrats running in the 3rd Congressional District as well as House District 26 in recent years.
Allison Gorman, a journalist and editor, said she decided to run after getting involved in various volunteer activities and becoming increasingly interested in national and state issues. She said friends encouraged her to seek the state House seat, which includes parts of Chattanooga, Red Bank, Soddy-Daisy and Harrison.
Gorman said government should be focusing on education funding, public health, safe streets and "living wage" jobs. "Tennessee's government is failing taxpayers abysmally," she said in a phone interview. "And these are the same folks paying the highest sales tax in the country every time they go to the store to buy diapers or whatever."
She supports the state expanding TennCare through the federal Affordable Care Act to an estimated 330,000 mostly low-income adults. Republican lawmakers have refused to do so.
Allison Gorman also takes aim at Republican Gov. Bill Lee and GOP lawmakers' push for funding on behalf of public charter schools and private school voucher initiatives, saying they "siphon off" funding for traditional public schools and GOP lawmakers were "willing to just shove this down the throat of Tennesseans."
Calling the state's abortion ban "cruel," Allison Gorman said it's also "medically dangerous." The law prohibits all abortions and subjects any physician who performs one to criminal prosecution. The law has a provision that enables physicians who are charged to mount an "affirmative" defense if the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother or to prevent serious, irreversible impairment.
Gorman said that Lee and GOP lawmakers were "willing to just shove this down the throat of Tennesseans ... speaks to a level of unaccountability that is extremely problematic."
She also takes a dim view of GOP lawmakers' latest crusade on LGBTQ issues, this over gender-affirming surgeries on minors. The issue blew up after the conservative Daily Wire charged that a Vanderbilt University Medical Center clinic was performing "surgical mutilations" on minors. The medical center, which is now reviewing practices, has stated it performs an annual average of five surgeries on minors who were at least 16 years old. None of them were genital procedures.
Allison Gorman said the "fact is that is not our legislators responding to real problems, which Tennessee has plenty, it's responding to the loudest voices."
She said before making a formal decision to run, she asked her daughter, Meg, if she had any objections to her running. Her daughter said she welcomed her to the campaign. Both attended Chattanooga's recent Gay Pride Parade.
Republican Martin is a real estate agent and was previously a county school board member.
Martin said in a phone interview he thinks the public's top concern is crime.
"It's the linchpin to the breakdown of society. It has to do with everything," Martin said, noting he joined with fellow Republicans earlier this year in passing a "truth in sentencing law" cracking down on violent crime.
Among other things, the law requires people convicted in eight categories of violent crime, including attempted first-degree murder and carjacking, to serve 100% of their court-imposed sentences. Lee, who has championed criminal justice reform efforts, refused to sign it.
Martin also said lawmakers this year provided funding to hire 100 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol officers.
"I'm proud of that," he said, also pointing to substantial pay increases for prison guards. "I think the fact we have the highest paid correctional officers in our prisons is good."
Martin also cited the economy as a top concern, but he noted Tennessee is financially well positioned. Martin said he also supports public education -- his wife is a teacher. But he said he also supports public charter schools.
Recently, Martin was among the House members signing on to a letter urging Vanderbilt University Medical Center to immediately stop gender transitioning surgeries on minors with the prospect of taking legislative action next year.
"I think it's immoral to take a child and transform their gender identity on an innocent minor, and that's inappropriate," Martin said. "I think what they've done at Vanderbilt is just wrong."
Martin has raised $90,455 and spent $35,513 through the third quarter. Allison Gorman reported raising $55,000 and spending $45,045 through the third quarter.
Meg Gorman v. Fleischmann
Meg Gorman, who works in the food industry, said in a phone interview she decided to run again against Fleischmann two years ago because she's been "really disappointed in the lack of leadership."
"I've seen several opportunities to really help the people, not just the people of this district, but the state and the nation," she said. "I've seen (Fleischmann) doing what he needed to do to stay in power instead and just the lack of responsiveness across the board in a way I don't see really with many other elected officials, Democrats or Republicans."
She faults Fleischmann, first elected in 2010, on his vote against President Joe Biden's $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which reduces health care costs for seniors on Medicare, including limiting monthly out-of-pocket costs of insulin to $35 per month.
"This was something simple, it was to make insulin affordable, period," Meg Gorman said of the legislation, which became law.
She said Fleischmann recently had the opportunity to increase mental health services in schools, adding that Fleischmann had cited that as a solution he would welcome to gun violence, especially in schools. But she said he didn't support it.
Fleischmann's campaign did not respond to the Gorman's specific criticisms. Ward Baker, a top national GOP political consultant who works with the Tennessee congressman, said in a statement that Fleischmann is the "only candidate in the race who can effectively represent the conservative Tennessee values of the 3rd District."
"Chuck is working hard to fire Nancy Pelosi and slam the brakes on Joe Biden's disastrous policies," Baker said. "His Democrat opponent would be a rubber stamp for the radical Biden-Pelosi agenda that has resulted in record-high inflation, a wide-open southern border, and trillions of dollars in reckless government spending on socialist programs."
He said Fleischmann has visited every county in the district over the past few weeks and has received "overwhelming support" because constituents know Fleischmann "has and will continue to represent their shared conservative values in Congress."
Fleischmann reported having $2.32 million in cash in his second quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission. Meg Gorman reported $8,439 in cash on hand.
The congressman is a senior GOP member on the House Appropriations Committee and is the ranking Republican member of its Homeland Security subcommittee.
Erik Schelzig, who writes and edits The Tennessee Journal, a nonpartisan weekly compendium of federal, state and local political and government news and analysis, said Meg Gorman facees challenges in the district, which includes Hamilton and Bradley counties.
"Given that (Fleischmann) has turned back any and all Democratic challengers without any issues in the past, it's hard to see why he would have more difficulty this time," Schelzig said by phone. "For his and the state House race, the real competition is always going to be in the primary."
The independent Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for the 3rd Congressional District is R+19, which Cook said means that in the previous two presidential elections, the district's results were 19 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Tennessee's 3rd the 49th most Republican district nationally.
Allison Gorman said state House District 26 is "not super red," noting a number of Republicans have told her they dislike provisions in law that allow the Lee-appointed Public Charter School Commission to override local school board decisions on charter approvals.
Also running as independents in the 3rd Congressional District contest are Rick Tyler of Delano, who in 2016 made state and national news when he put up two billboards, one stating "Make America White Again," and Thomas M. Rumba of Charleston.
Early voting in Tennessee for state and federal elections begins Oct. 19 and goes through Nov. 3.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.