With prominent Democrats at his side, Chaz Molder launched his general election campaign Friday, Aug. 7, on Beale Street, the morning after he won the Democratic nomination for a congressional district drawn to make it harder to build a coalition.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat who represented Memphis for nearly 20 years and will retire at the end of his term in January 2027, attended the event held at Handy Park to show support for Molder. Shelby County Mayor-elect Mickell Lowery – fresh off his own election night victory – also was there. So were A C Wharton, former mayor of both Memphis and Shelby County, and Dr. Telisa Franklin, who had just won the Democratic nomination for Tennessee House District 96, beating incumbent Democrat Gabby Salinas.
And standing in the middle of them all was Molder, the mayor of Columbia, Tennessee, laying out where he believes his path to Congress begins.
“We ended our day yesterday with the primary election in Memphis, and we’re beginning today the general election in Memphis,” said Molder. “And we’re doing that because we know that Memphis deserves a voice and Memphis needs a champion.”
Later, in a one-on-one interview with Tri-State Defender, he offered a practical and blunt assessment of his campaign strategy.
“Memphis is ground zero for this campaign and for this race,” said Molder. “Memphis is going to be the reason that we win, because we’re going to show up for Memphis. And I have great confidence that they’re going to show up for us.”
But persuading some Memphis Democrats to show up may be his first challenge to overcome if he hopes to win the state’s 5th Congressional District.
City Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton beat Molder in Shelby County by a nearly 4-point margin in Thursday’s Democratic primary with 9,680 votes, or 41.5%. Meanwhile, Molder drew 8,796, or 37.7%, of votes cast. Molder’s strength in other parts of the 17-county district that stretches from West Tennessee to Middle Tennessee carried him to the nomination.
By Friday morning, however, Molder said he had already spoken with Cooper-Sutton.
“I want to say thank you to the other candidates in our primary,” said Molder, who named Cooper-Sutton, DeVante Hill, Rachel Hurley and Carrie Iacomini in his speech. “They saw the terrible injustice done by the last-minute gerrymandering and they stepped up. I would be honored to have their support in this general election.”
Molder’s swift outreach underscores the task facing him now to unite Democrats who competed Thursday, maximize support in Memphis and then capture enough votes across rural counties to win in the sprawling district deliberately drawn to favor Republicans.
In November’s general election, Molder will face Republican Charlie Hatcher, the former Tennessee agriculture commissioner who defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles in Thursday’s GOP primary. Hatcher is a fifth-generation dairy farmer who lives on the land his family has cultivated for 200 years, according to his campaign website, which also describes him as “pro-gun, pro-life, pro-Trump.”
Cohen: Molder may be Democrats’ best shot
Cohen offered perhaps the strongest endorsement of the morning.
“Yesterday was an interesting night in that the three people expected to win in Districts 8, 5 and 9 won,” said Cohen. “But in my opinion, the person most likely to win the seat, to get the Democrats a seat in Congress, is Chaz Molder.”
Alongside Molder in District 5, the other Democratic nominees are Heidi Kuhn in District 8 and state Rep. Justin J. Pearson in District 9, representing the three districts that Republican lawmakers created last spring by dividing Shelby County.
Cohen argued that Molder’s existing ties to Memphis distinguish him from someone who simply inherited part of the city through redistricting.
“He knows how to campaign. He knows people in the district. He works hard,” said Cohen. “He knows Memphis, went to law school here, lived in Midtown. He will have an office in Memphis.”
“That’s what Memphis needs,” said Cohen. “We need a congressman to help with constituent services, help with community services and help us with the needs of the largest cities in America that need government help.”
Cohen gave Molder his “unconditional support.”
Lowery: Molder has ‘a heart for Shelby County’
Lowery added his endorsement without much ambiguity.
The Shelby County mayor-elect told Molder that what mattered most to him was having congressional representatives who remained attentive to the county even within new political boundaries.
“What’s most important for me is that whoever is in these seats has a heart for Shelby County,” Lowery said. “We know that Mayor Molder has that heart for Shelby County, but also for the entire district as well.”
Then Lowery shared a detail that made clear his support had preceded Molder’s nomination.
“I was proud to be able to cast my vote for you,” Lowery told him. “And I look forward to seeing you in that seat and working with you to make sure we’re changing our country for the better.”
For his part, Lowery defeated Republican John DeBerry Jr. in Thursday’s Shelby County mayoral election with more than 65% of the vote.
Lowery’s comments also highlighted a new political reality created by the new congressional map. Representatives no longer have to be from Memphis for Memphis voters to demand that they show support for Memphis.
Molder appears eager to make that case.
“I want to visit schools and churches and parks and community centers,” he told TSD. “I want to be a part of this community, because I know that they are starving for leadership that pays attention to them and for leaders who are accountable to the public.”
He repeatedly invoked Cohen’s emphasis on constituent service.
“Congressman Cohen … knew that Memphis had to have good constituent services in their congressional office,” said Molder. “I want to be that kind of congressman who provides the services to those who need it, and to be a congressman they can be proud of.”
Bridging 17 counties
The Republican logic behind the new map was based on a simple calculation: Split a strong Democratic Memphis voting bloc and reassign those voters to districts with enough Republicans to outnumber them.
But Molder’s theory of the race is that the perceived chasm between those voters may not be as wide as their party labels suggest. Asked how he intends to bridge voters in Memphis with those in rural and suburban communities elsewhere in District 5, Molder pointed to economics.
“I think the reality is that the issues are the same,” he said. “Gas prices are rising in Memphis just like they’re rising in Union City. Healthcare affordability is a concern for folks who live in Midtown, just as it’s a concern for those who live in Martin.”
The challenge, he said, is having a representative in Congress willing to listen across that geography.
“As a mayor of a community, I understand you have to focus on solutions to problems,” said Molder. “But you also have to pay attention to everybody.”
Molder said his campaign has already traveled to all 17 counties.
“That was important to me because I want people to know that it’s not just what I say,” he said. “It’s my actions that I do.”
At the Beale Street event, Molder said the next phase of his campaign would continue that approach to voter outreach, with a tour stretching from Memphis to Obion, Montgomery and Williamson counties, and his hometown of Columbia.
Winning District 5 also will require Molder to reach beyond the Democratic electorate that nominated him. He has already seen signs that this might be possible, he said.
“I lost count of the number of Republicans that sent me messages over the last couple of weeks that said that they pulled a Democratic ballot for the first time in their lives, because I was actually focused on issues that were important to them,” said Molder.
“Folks are ready and willing to put their country over their political party, as long as it’s a candidate who is speaking to the issues that are important to them,” he said. “And that’s why we feel so good about our chances in November.”
His campaign message Friday focused on issues related to the cost of living, such as groceries, gasoline, healthcare and the pressures facing farmers, rather than partisan labels.
“Voters don’t want a reason to vote against someone,” Molder told TSD. “They want a reason to vote for something.”
‘Whatever it takes’
Franklin, who leads a community outreach organization, offered both a personal endorsement and a call to action. She said she had gotten to know Molder through church.
“He has a heart for God. He has a heart for God’s people,” Franklin said of Molder. “I am challenging everybody that loves me to make sure we get out here and let’s register people to vote. Let’s get people to the polls. Let’s knock on some doors. Let’s make some calls. Whatever it takes, we’ve got to get moving.”
Her appearance alongside Cohen, Lowery and Wharton lent political cachet to Friday’s event that elevated it to something more than a routine post-primary news conference. It signaled the beginning of a Memphis coalition around a candidate who does not live here but says he intends to advocate for the city.
“Memphis, you were done wrong,” he told the crowd at Handy Park. “If I know anything about this city, it’s this: Never count Memphis out. Let’s show them that Memphis will not be silenced.”
