Tennessee's 8th Congressional District: Read our Q&A with Democratic primary candidates
Early voting for the state and federal primary races is underway in Tennessee with multiple contested primary elections for Shelby County voters. Five Democrats are vying to be the party nominee in the November election for Tennessee's 8th Congressional District.
Incumbent Republican Rep. David Kustoff has represented the district since 2017 and will face whichever Democratic candidate wins the primary.
No other Republicans qualified for the primary race. Early voting will be held through July 27, with election day on Aug. 1
The Commercial Appeal reached out to the candidates and asked a series of questions to inform voters. Candidate responses have been put in the order they will appear on the ballot.
Some edits have been made to responses for formatting and clarity.
Sarah Freeman
Q: Why are you running for this office?
A: I am an extremely dedicated and patriotic American and cannot stand by as the dark, greedy, undemocratic, and inhumane forces of what once was the Republican Party seize our Constitution and rip it to shreds. These are real and serious threats, and I am not willing to allow authoritarians to govern the country of my children, grandchildren, and future generations. This must be stopped now. As a professional historian, I have studied fascism and the history of Europe in the 1920s and ‘30s. As a southern historian, I know well the methods of bigots and their use of racism and hate to gain power.
The current Republican incumbent has had eight years to serve the people of West Tennessee and instead he has curried favor with these dark forces. I have a very different vision of the future that protects the Constitution, as he vowed and failed to do. We have to pull together rather than pulling apart. The spell must be broken through a hard-fought campaign that will give the people of West Tennessee an alternative to the horrific vision of Project 2025, a plan the incumbent will acquiesce to.
Since the 1990s, the incumbent has vowed to get rid of Social Security. If he is re-elected, he will be well positioned to succeed. The federal government has a critical role in protecting and preserving our sacred freedoms and our nation. The incumbent has rendered himself unfit to be part of that mission. It is time to change who represents West Tennessee in Congress. As a public advocate for the region and its people, I want to effect that change.
Q: What makes you qualified to hold this office and better qualified than your opponent(s)?
A: I am a college history professor and have taught in universities in the South (North Carolina and Arkansas) for forty years. My work in public speaking, research, analysis, and the classroom have given me a deep understanding and appreciation of regional issues and challenges--economic, cultural, and political. I am a southerner and know and love my people.
I have lived in Germantown since 1998 and in 2008 became active in local political issues to prevent predatory development from ruining neighborhoods. I used the Open Records and Open Meetings laws to get at the truth about what was happening and organized average citizens to get involved in speaking truth to power. I worked with government leaders, citizens, and the press across the ideological spectrum because, when it comes down to it, all of us want safe neighborhoods, great public education and health care, and opportunities for prosperity and happiness. Most people want to get along together. Many are distressed at the loss of civility and want to talk without anger or rancor. With my neighbors, I fought hard for transparency in government and, along the way, exposed a number of questionable uses of public funds and conflicts of interest.
Electing decent and honest public officials requires an iron clad voting method that can be checked for accuracy. In 2018, I began working with a group of local activists (SAVE) to transform Shelby County’s highly problematic voting system and took on, in a public forum, the Election Administrator who needed to be convinced that Shelby County voters are capable of filling out paper ballots. We succeeded in getting a better system, but we cannot take our eyes off of how our elections are run. I am not afraid to address issues of racism, inequity, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, corruption, and injustice. In fact, it is my instinct to do so.
I was appointed to serve on the Shelby County Democratic Primary Board and fought to keep the county’s school boards non-partisan. I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Shelby County Democratic Party in 2020 and to the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party in 2022, a position I currently hold. I was recently elected to serve as a delegate to the Democratic Convention, representing District 8. Through the Democratic Party and my relationships with leaders, I possess organizational assets that my opponents do not have.
I cannot speak to the qualifications of my opponents, but the attacks on our democratic institutions and our security in the world must be met with an unflinching resolve to protect our Constitution and the welfare of the nation from enemies foreign and domestic. These enemies are real, and I am prepared to do everything in my power to protect us from these destructive forces. I take very seriously my own oath as a state elected official to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Q: If you are elected (or re-elected), what are your top 2 to 3 priorities for your new (or next) term in office?
A: Roe must be codified through federal legislation. If SCOTUS rules that such legislation is unconstitutional, then there is no question that the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is long overdue. The unfinished business of passing the ERA has empowered anti-woman radicals at the highest levels. This must change. Congress has the duty to censure and impeach SCOTUS justices who engage in bribery and influence (peddling). I would use congressional powers to investigate officials who try to implement Project 2025 which seeks to undermine the Constitution and subvert basic human rights, including rights to reproductive healthcare and contraception.
The inability of most communities in West Tennessee to provide quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare and public education is a historic and chronic problem, rooted in habits of bigotry that only keep the region at the bottom of all public service rankings. We all deserve better. Where local and state governments fail, for whatever reason, the federal government should use the general welfare clause to provide these basic services for the health, safety, and well-being of the people they govern.
This includes protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act and building and subsidizing hospitals and clinics in rural areas. Public schools are critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, courts have ruled variously that public education is and is not a fundamental right under the 14th Amendment. This brings me back to the importance of altering the current dynamic in the Supreme Court
I will work hard to reinstate the assault weapons ban and pass common sense gun laws to make our schools, neighborhoods, and households safer. My family’s personal experience with the 1998 Westside Middle School shooting was our reason for moving to Germantown. After that shooting I became quite vocal and active in trying to discern the causes and possible remedies to gun violence. Not all appreciated my efforts. Those who love their guns more than they love their children are in the minority and common sense should prevail.
Q: What are you hearing most from voters about what they want you to accomplish, if elected?
A: In the urban areas, especially Memphis and its suburbs, the challenges to law enforcement are continually mentioned. (Shelby County) Sheriff (Floyd) Bonner has said that his greatest challenge is hiring good officers to fill the many vacant positions. The jail is in a terrible condition and over-crowding makes it a campus for the training of criminals and fostering organized crime. Programs that put officers in neighborhoods and communities, as friendlier and approachable members of the community, seem to be working. Crime in unincorporated Shelby is down by 18.5 percent from last year. Securing federal funds to improve the conditions of incarceration and the recruitment of quality officers, and expand programs that work, would be a central part of my congressional agenda.
In rural areas, the two issues that come up the most are the bad conditions in public schools, and the state legislature’s efforts to further defund public education, and the closing of rural hospitals and high medical expenses. Many mention Gov. Lee’s refusal to accept federal Medicaid funds to assist thousands of Tennessee’s low-income residents and criticize it as mean and stupid. Congress should find a way around the governors who refuse to accept such care for their citizens.
In rural and urban areas, the Dobbs decision, that overturned Roe and ushered in Tennessee’s draconian law that rescinded a woman’s right to choose, comes up repeatedly.
But what I hear the most is the great concern about the future of democracy and America’s democratic institutions—the most fundamental concerns an American can have. The concern and fear is palpable, deep, and very real. What will happen to the world if the U.S. leaves NATO? On and on. The disgust at MAGA and Trump sycophants is visceral
Q: How will you approach the needs of the constituents you represent in Congress?
A: I will work on committees and with colleagues and experts to draft legislation that supports the policies and programs I have mentioned. I will fight legislation that undermines the rights of Americans, no matter their race, creed, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, etc. We are all equal under the law and I will fight all efforts to alter that fundamental principle. I have a strong personal connection to the hardships and sacrifices of war as my brother, David Hunter Wilkerson, was killed in Vietnam in 1969—a nineteen-year-old Marine.
Decisions about the use of our military should be extremely serious, thought through, and never undertaken without great consideration of the end game and loss of life. I will work hard to support our veterans and military and honor the sacrifices of the dead and the living. I will use my knowledge of government, record keeping, and the law, including subpoena power, to investigate possible crimes and/or ethical misconduct by government officials and others, such as corporate entities.
I will have three offices in West Tennessee to address the problems of constituents and hire office staff who are efficient, compassionate, and will get things done in a timely manner. I will allow the Trump massive tax give away to the wealthy to sunset, thereby making trillions of dollars available to protect Social Security!
Q: What are the three most pressing issues of your district? How do you plan to address them?
A: My previous answers cover this, but I will add that the construction of Ford’s Blue Oval in Haywood Co. demonstrates why government must hold big corporations accountable for working conditions and preserving the environment. Government must work with corporations to reduce of fossil fuel pollution while protecting the rights of workers and those who already live in the community. Chattanooga’s Volkswagen plant voted to unionize and join the United Auto Workers, proving that industrial unions can be organized successfully in the South, something I strongly support.
The people most impacted in Haywood, Fayette, Tipton, and Shelby Counties and beyond should have opportunities to be trained for good jobs in the plant. The federal government should work with Ford to make sure that the people of the region benefit and that new people coming in are welcomed and treated with respect, including and especially the thousands of foreign nationals who will be able to train local people.
Q: What else do you want voters to know about you that will help them make an informed decision on Election Day?
A: I love working with people and enjoy being on the campaign trail and talking to people about what they want Congress to do for them, their families, and communities. I want to serve as a conduit and help break this horrible spell of intolerance, and worse. This is the most critical need at this moment because we are, as a nation and people, very vulnerable when we need to be united and strong. That is what I want to accomplish as a public servant. Please support me in that resolve.
Leonard Perkins
Q: Why are you running for this office?
A: I'm running because of the strenuous, aggressive and relentless movement to end our democracy. My general opponent will be a man who is a contributor to that movement.
Q: What makes you qualified to hold this office and better qualified than your opponent(s)?
A: I'm qualified constitutionally. I'm further qualified because I am a retired veteran, air traffic controller with a most heightened sense of national and personal security.
Q: If you are elected (or re-elected), what are your top 2 to 3 priorities for your new (or next) term in office?
A: My intent is to: 1. be part of a team effort to codify Roe. Return women's reproductive autonomy. 2. Simplify and expedite Veterans claims and appeals. Better training for (veterans' services organizations). 3. Accountability for Justices.
Q: What are you hearing most from voters about what they want you to accomplish, if elected?
A: This question was not answered.
Q: How will you approach the needs of the constituents you represent in Congress?
A: I will approach their needs by many in-person townhall meetings designed to listening attentively and showing them that their government cares by moving upon the knowledge gained from listening.
Q: What are the three most pressing issues of your district? How do you plan to address them?
A: 1. Democracy. Without it, everything else is moot. Plan: Repair the Supreme Court. Shut down domestic terror. 2. Women's/Human Rights Plan: Codify and Repair the Supreme Court 3. Veterans and Survivor Issues/Benefits. Plan: Simplify and expedite all claims and appeals. Improve training for (veterans' services organizations). Take (veterans' services organizations) out of the VA Hospitals and reinstall (veterans service representatives). Better assistance for widow and dependents of Veterans.
2. Infrastructure. There are too many borderline ghost towns in the District. PLAN: Help with the start-up of small businesses and Agriculture in the small towns. Encourage tourism and cultural arts and cultural events.
3. Grants for hardworking community workers. PLAN: Encourage the smaller initiatives that have been overlooked. These are the ones that community leaders who are feeding and clothing folks for years using their own collective resources.
Q: What else do you want voters to know about you that will help them make an informed decision on Election Day?
A: Please know that I am accessible. I listen and I act. If you're in District 8, I've already been in your County and I'll keep coming back until you are convinced that I'm a Congressman for All Americans irrespective of political persuasion. I respect all people and I'm very sensitive about women and Veterans. My opponent takes orders from one who consider veteran as, "Losers and Suckers."
I preside over one of the largest Veterans initiatives in Western Tennessee with intent to build prototypes within the Eighth District. We have a 46-acre Adaptive Sports Center designed to help make veterans and their families whole again. As for women, I was raised by two powerful, wise and Godly women. I've got 19 grandchildren, many are girls/ladies. My opponent will be no help to women and girls. His cult will criminalize women's Healthcare.
Lawrence A. Pivnick
Q: Why are you running for this office?
A: I’m running for Congress to enact laws that:
protect everyone’s liberty rights (a) to choose, (b) to privacy, (c) to obtain a quality, free public education, (d) to receive affordable health care, and (e) to be free from violence;
ensure social justice and equal opportunity for All;
provide for the national defense against foreign and internal threats and attacks on democracy;
provide reliable financial security for ALL, and (6) promote the common good and general well-being of ALL.
Q: What makes you qualified to hold this office and better qualified than your opponent(s)?
A: The primary role of a member of Congress is to enact laws. I received a B.A.(with Phi Beta Kappa honors) from the University of Buffalo (a state university) and has law degrees from the University of Florida (J.D. with honors) and an advanced law degree (LL.M in Trade Regulations) from the New York University Law School. I have been a licensed attorney in Tennessee for more than fifty years, and I have a clean record with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility.
From 1976 until 2014, I was a full time University of Memphis law professor and served as the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and I founded and served faculty director of the University of Memphis Legal Clinic which provided free legal services for clients of all ages who were not able to afford and/or obtain legal services. I also served as the Faculty Senate’s President and as the University of Memphis Faculty Ombudsman. I am the author Tennessee Circuit Court Practice (with annual revisions), and Tennessee General Sessions Court Civil Practice, a guide for new attorneys and persons appearing in General Sessions courts without an attorney.
Since retiring from the University of Memphis, I have continued to provide free legal services in the Memphis community to the present day. I am better qualified candidate to serve as the Congressperson for Tennessee District 8 because (1) I am the only candidate who has extensive legal training; (2) I taught courses on Legal Writing, History, and Analysis, (3) I have authored several leading legal treatises, (4) I drafted several provisions of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure which were adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court and were approved by the Tennessee General Assembly; (5) I have experience in explaining difficult legal concepts to others.
Q: If you are elected (or re-elected), what are your top 2 to 3 priorities for your new (or next) term in office?
A: Ensuring Liberty (rights to choose and privacy) and Justice (equal protection and due process) “for all". B. Providing for Economic Security by raising minimum wages to living wages, redistributing the burden of taxes from workers and the middle class to the wealthy, and reducing prices, interest rates, and inflation. C. Increasing safety and survival for our families, community, country, and the world from climate change and other natural disasters and from man-made dangers (foreign and internal attacks on democracy, crimes, and gun violence).
Q: What are you hearing most from voters about what they want you to accomplish, if elected?
A: Voters want national legislation to ensure their rights to choose privacy They are concerned about their present and future lack of economic security, their needs for higher minimum wages, and the rise of prices due to inflation. They are also concerned about their inability to buy houses because of high interest rates and they are concerned about rising crime and their safety.
Q: How will you approach the needs of the constituents you represent in Congress?
A: I will work collaboratively with other democrats and reasonable republicans to initiate equal rights and privacy amendments to The U.S. Constitution, and to pass federal legislation ensuring these rights.
I will work to enact laws providing for economic security for ALL, by (a) raising minimum wages and benefits, (b) lowering taxes on laborers and the middle class, (c) reducing permissible interest rates and administrative fees charged by lenders, sellers, and service providers; (d) requiring that multi-millionaire and billionaire individuals and corporations pay reasonable and progressive taxes on their gross income, capital gains, and gross estates upon death; (e) increasing excise taxes on unhealthy and unsafe products and activities; and (f) increasing tariffs on imports of selective foreign made goods that unfairly compete with American made goods; and I will work to enact gun safety laws requiring the obtaining of a initial and continuing safety courses and the completion of background searches no matter how long this takes, as prerequisites to the sale and physical transfer of guns from sellers to purchasers. I oppose sales of automatic guns and rifles to non-law enforcement agencies, and I oppose the presence of guns in schools or on their campuses.
Q: What are the three most pressing issues of your district? How do you plan to address them?
A: See answers to questions 3 and 5
Q: What else do you want voters to know about you that will help them make an informed decision on Election Day?
A: I am a populist who believes in government of, by, and for ALL of the people in District 8 including the working, middle class and needy residents of District 8, be they city dwellers. village people, or rural folks, regardless of race, caste, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, age, and physical and mental condition. I reject a government that is controlled by would be dictators and their puppet congresspersons who cater exclusively to greedy wealthy individuals and corporations, who are driven by self-interest, who are unwilling to pay their fair share of taxes.
I am a progressive who believes in the preservation and continual extension of the liberty and justice ideals of American democracy, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. I am a lifetime JFK type ‘‘democrat” who thinks not what America can do for me (self-interest), but what I can do for my country. JFK’s imperative reflects my scout oath to do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, and to help other people at all times.
Lynnette P Williams
Williams did not respond.
Brenda Woods
Woods did not respond.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Where TN Congressional District 8 candidates stand on the big issues
