Episode 28 - Holly McCall on the state of the Tennessee Democratic Party

Nashville Sounding Board

In January, Holly McCall challenged Mary Mancini in the election for Tennessee Democratic Party chair. Holly McCall is a longtime Democratic operative and public communications strategist. She currently serves as the chair of Emerge Tennessee and as the chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party. In 2016, McCall ran for TN State House in District 65. Topics by minute: 1:50 - What motivated you to run for TNDP Chair? 3:35 - What were your main critiques of TNDP Chair Mary Mancini? 8:00 - What is the path forward and what are other states doing differently? 10:40 - How would a more liberal candidate play statewide? 12:40 - Target races - How would you suggest focusing resources? 16:00 - If TN Democrats are on a 20 year path back, how should progress be judged? 18:08 - Similarities between McCall's results in Williamson County and Mancini's results statewide 19:35 - Lessons to learn for TNDP to move forward 20:45 - As a communications professional, what are your comms ideas? 22:10 - How would Democrats go about running more liberal candidates? 23:45 - Most of McCall's support was from Middle TN and new members of the TNDP Executive Committee 28:54 - What were your biggest takeaways from running for party chair? 30:00 - How can Democrats utilize young activists? 31:00 - Getting rid of the TNDP Executive Committee? 33:05 - Future involvement for Holly McCall Nashville Sounding Board is a podcast dedicated to discussing social and political issues affecting Middle Tennessee. www.nashvillesoundingboard.com www.facebook.com/NashvilleSoundingBoard www.twitter.com/NashSoundBoard NSB is produced by Benjamin Eagles. Views expressed by Benjamin Eagles in this podcast and on social media are his alone and do not reflect the views of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Music by Craig Turner and Joe Halberstadt