Lauren Pinkston — the independent candidate for governor of Tennessee — joins the Chuck Toddcast to make the case that the deepest problem in her state isn't left versus right, it's the near-total absence of two-party competition that has allowed one-party rule to calcify into something genuinely unhealthy. Pinkston, who was raised in an evangelical environment where she was taught that voting Democrat meant going to hell, offers a fascinating personal and political journey: she lived in communist Laos where people were persecuted for their faith, which gave her a firsthand understanding of why the Founders deliberately kept Christianity out of the Constitution, and she's now running explicitly against the kind of Christian nationalism that teaches America was divinely ordained. She argues Citizens United is a major reason Tennessee became so uncompetitive, walks through the mechanical difficulties of mounting a serious independent campaign, and contends that Marsha Blackburn isn't nearly as strong a candidate as she thinks she is.

The conversation digs into Pinkston's actual governing vision and her theory of how an independent can build a winning coalition in one of the reddest states in the country. She wants to reform education and make teaching a genuinely fun profession again, and she's passionate about the way Nashville soaks up all the state's political investment while Memphis gets neglected — pointing out that crime in Memphis is at a 20-year low yet the city still can't attract investment, and that St. Jude is struggling to recruit talent because of H1-B visa denials. Pinkston is candid about the structural obstacles: Tennessee's constitution doesn't even allow for ballot measures, the GOP holds a stranglehold on the statehouse, and Republican leadership has been kicking moderate candidates off the ballot entirely. But she argues there's a real opening — Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn't a Democrat, and even staunch Democrats are frustrated with their own party. Pinkston is energized about working with the Working Families Party and the Forward Party to build toward a more moderate, genuinely competitive two-party system, argues this is the strongest group of independent candidates to run in years, and wonders aloud whether being "too educated" has perversely become a negative quality in a candidate. She closes with a sharp observation that cuts to the heart of the whole project: Americans demand more than two options for literally everything in their lives except politics, politicians increasingly rely on performance over substance, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Lauren Pinkston joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:00 Why run for governor as an independent?

02:15 There’s a lack of two party competition in Tennessee

04:00 Some of the barriers for an insurgent candidacy have been removed

06:00 Citizen’s United was a big reason for TN becoming uncompetitive

06:45 Lauren was raised to feel that voting Dem meant going to hell

08:45 Politics has courted the evangelical vote & leaders for decades

09:30 Jimmy Carter’s pure faith made it harder for him to govern

10:15 Churches teach nationalism & that America was ordained by god

11:15 Founders specifically didn’t put christianity & religion into the constitution

12:15 Lauren lived in communist Laos, where people were persecuted for their faith

13:15 The mechanical difficulties of running as an independent

14:30 Businesses afraid to support a non-Republican candidate in TN

16:00 Democratic opponent has been receiving calls to drop out

17:15 Any chance Marsha Blackburn isn’t the GOP nominee?

18:00 Blackburn isn’t as strong of a candidate as she thinks she is

18:30 Three leading candidates are white women with colors in their name

20:00 What big ideas are you proposing that you hope stick with voters?

20:30 Want to reform education and make it a fun field for teachers to work

22:00 Nashville gets all the political support and Memphis gets neglected

22:45 Crime is at a 20 year low in Memphis, but it still doesn’t get investment

23:45 St. Jude struggling to recruit due to denial of H1-B visas

24:15 How would you govern with a Republican stranglehold on the statehouse?

25:00 State constitution doesn’t even allow for ballot measures

25:45 Need to invest in Chief Information Officers are the county level

27:15 Attracting support from disaffected Democrats and Republicans

29:45 There’s a deep history of good governance out of east Tennessee

31:00 Need leaders and not party puppets

32:00 GOP leadership in the state has kicked moderate candidates off the ballot

33:00 Republicans in the state are looking for an offramp that isn’t a Democrat

33:30 What does your winning coalition look like?

35:45 Can you succeed without winning?

36:15 Want to give people an onramp to political engagement

37:30 Excited about working with WFP and Forward Party

38:00 Want to create a more moderate two party system

39:45 Strongest group of independent candidates running in years

40:45 Possible that being too educated will be a negative quality in a candidate

42:15 Voter turnout is pretty low in both Nashville and Memphis

44:00 Even the most staunch Democrats are frustrated with their party

45:15 It will be hard to get either opponent to agree to a debate

47:15 People demand more than two options for everything except politics

49:15 Politicians rely more on performance now than substance

51:00 People will die if governing isn’t taken seriously