Michael FriedmanMichael B. Friedman, an assistant professor who teaches public relations at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District seat.
The 43-year-old New Jersey native, who moved to Chattanooga in 2013 with his wife and family, is new to politics.
He decided to run, he said, "because there is an obvious lack of adequate representation for the majority of the district's citizens and a complete failure or refusal to develop any meaningful solutions to help ease the current suffering of many of the district's citizens."
The incumbent is Republican Chuck Fleischmann, an attorney from Ooltewah who is running for a fourth term.
Friedman said the 3rd District "desperately needs a representative who has experienced, can relate to, and understands the struggles most Americans face on a daily basis."
As he's begun getting to know voters in the district, he has realized "your average American has choices every day that in some communities are make-it-or-break-it," Friedman said.
"I've met more people in this district who really have a decision of, do I eat today or do I pay X bill?"
"It does not make any sense to re-elect a person who does not understand the day-to-day worries most constituents face or to elect candidates who have never experienced any real adversity because they are just starting out in life," he said.
Friedman faces George Ryan Love and Melody Shekari in the Democratic primary. Fleischmann is opposed by Allan Levene and Geoffery Suhmer Smith. The winners of their respective primaries also will face independent candidates Topher Kersting, Cassandra Mitchell and Rick Tyler.
If elected, Friedman said, he will be a forceful advocate for the 3rd District who will have "rational and honest conversations" with other members of Congress about current challenges and offer sensible solutions. He said he will help economic development in the district's rural areas, and will work on problems including government overreach, prison and sentencing reform, health care and education.
"The only way to make other government officials at the federal level understand the issues everyday Americans face is to elect someone who has experienced and continues to live with these struggles."
The 3rd District comprises Scott, Morgan, Roane, Anderson, Union, Campbell, Monroe, McMinn, Polk and Hamilton counties.