PUBLIC STATEMENTS
A Statement on the Tennessee Congressional Redistricting
May 7, 2026
They have redrawn the lines. But they have not redrawn my resolve.
The Tennessee legislature has now made its choice — a choice that speaks volumes about who they believe this state belongs to. The new district lines are not a reflection of our communities. They are a reflection of who those in power fear. And history is clear about what that fear looks like: it looks like racism. It looks like the deliberate silencing of Black voters, Latino voters, and every community of color that has had the audacity to demand a seat at the table.
Let me be direct: what has happened in Nashville is not a procedural disagreement. It is a continuation of a long and shameful pattern of using maps as weapons — weapons aimed squarely at communities that have already had to fight too hard, for too long, just to have their votes count.
But here is what those in power have never understood: you can move the lines, but you cannot move the people.
To every Tennessean in my new district — I see you. I am here. And I am running to represent you with everything I have. Whatever district they have drawn around us, I will fight for your schools, your healthcare, your economic opportunity, and your right to a government that actually works for you. The lines on a map do not determine the quality of my commitment to the people inside them.
I am also calling on federal authorities, civil rights organizations, and the courts to examine what has taken place here. Six months before an election, with maps drawn to protect incumbents and dilute minority voting power, Tennesseans deserve scrutiny — and accountability.
This fight is not over. In fact, it is just beginning. I am running for Congress because representation must be earned, not engineered. And no matter what this legislature has decided, I intend to earn it — every single day.
The people of Tennessee will not be silenced. And neither will I.
A Statement on the coverage of the 2021 "Activist Theology" Podcast with Senatorial Candidate James Talarico
June 24, 2026
Several national outlets, including The Federalist, The Post Millennial, Townhall, Breitbart, PJ Media, Texas Scorecard, the Washington Times, and others, have this week republished and recirculated a 2021 episode of “Activist Theology,” a podcast I co-hosted, featuring a conversation between Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, theologian Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza, and me. Because my name and this campaign have been repeatedly invoked in that coverage, I want to respond directly.
James Talarico and I are being rightfully drawn together in this coverage, and I am honored to be compared to someone like him. We are both faith leaders who are now part of a progressive movement in the South. We have both stepped into this arena, understanding that the Savior we serve was also met with backlash by the political establishment. In this podcast episode, Talarico, Espinoza, and I discuss systems of Christianity and democracy, offering both critique and praise in equal measure. As a part of this critique, Talarico comments that he thinks of himself as “a Christian who hates Christianity.”
The press is treating this statement as a gotcha moment. It isn’t. It’s a distinction Christians have made for centuries: between the person of Jesus and the institutions that have, at various points in history, used his name to justify slavery, segregation, the subjugation of women, and the exclusion of LGBTQ+ people from full participation in the life of the church. That distinction is not radical. It is, in fact, deeply traditional. We can view it through the prophets, the Reformation, in the Black church, and in the witness of countless Christians who both deeply love Jesus and are willing to name the harms done in His name.
I understand this personally. In 2018, I lost my position as an associate pastor in a United Methodist church in Chattanooga for officiating a same-sex wedding. I officiated because I believe Jesus’s call to love my neighbor is not conditional. The institution disagreed. That conflict between my relationship with Jesus and frustration with the institution built in His name is a tension that serious Christians often sit with.
I am running for Congress in TN-03 as exactly what I am: a faith leader, a small business owner, and a person whose faith shapes how I think about caring for my neighbors. I believe in, and vehemently support, the dignity of every person. But too often, critics highlight someone’s connection to Jesus when they should highlight the institution that has too often confused power with faithfulness.
A necessary correction: Multiple stories have misgendered Dr. Espinoza and referred to him by a former name while also describing him as transgender. Dr. Espinoza’s correct pronouns are he/they. I’d ask outlets covering this story to issue corrections accordingly. Accuracy about who someone is shouldn’t be optional, regardless of the politics of the piece.
A Statement on the Passing of Lindsay Graham
July 12, 2026
This morning I’m holding space for the Graham family and everyone who loved Senator Lindsey Graham. Death touches every family the same way, regardless of politics, and I send prayers of comfort for all who are suffering.
I also believe that honesty is a form of love, and pastoral integrity means I can’t erase the real consequences his policy choices had on real people in this country. His decisions around healthcare access, on immigrant families, on LGBTQ+ folks directly affected people I love.
My faith is one of care and courage. I will not speak ill of a man I only knew from headlines. I can also hold him accountable for the decisions and statements he made that hurt “the least of these.”
A Statement on the Preaching Engagement with Rivermont Presbyterian
August 13, 2026
A Statement on My Support of the Palestinian People and a Denouncement of Antisemitism
September 16, 2026
We have seven weeks until we elect Tennessee’s 3rd District representative. From the beginning of my campaign, I have prioritized one key tenet as a non-negotiable – that the dignity of others is of utmost importance to me and to the work I do in the world. Whether I am running for office or working with small-business people across the region, an ethic of care shapes all my interactions with others. I take it seriously, and as such, I need to name any instance when I wasn’t at my best.
As many of you know, politics isn’t an arena I ever thought I’d embark upon. But I’ve spent my time in Tennessee in ways that have shown me how marginalized people are manipulated and silenced by systems of power that were built to do just that. I grew my small business here and started an organization that trains faith leaders to lead in the streets of their own communities. In the midst of those endeavors, I have affirmed repeatedly that freedom shouldn’t only be for those who believe, worship, vote, or live a certain way.
Understanding that, I have been made aware that some of my language around the genocide and occupation inflicted on Palestine, from Gaza to the West Bank, has created confusion regarding what I believe and how I plan to move in Congress once elected. I was educated to understand the United States as a settler-colonialist state, and to not acknowledge Israel as such would be ignoring my education through the lens of a theology that centers the marginalized. Throughout all my anti-racist work, the wielding and misuse of power has been the thread that knits collective harm to marginalized groups. Because of this recognition, it’s important for me to name the ongoing genocide in Gaza and equally hold to account apartheid.
The world has watched in horror as Israel massacred and systemically displaced Gaza. Tens of thousands have been murdered, and millions displaced, over the course of the last 75 years.
The United States continues to send billions of dollars in military aid to Israel every year, with almost no conditions attached. All the while, Palestinians live under blockade and displacement. I do not support spending our tax dollars without verifiable compliance with international law and a standard for human rights. In the same vein, the United States has used its power to collectively punish the citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Iran, the Congo, and Sudan in ways that civilian populations do not deserve. The United States should move toward ending its military-industrial complex, not doubling down on it.
My language was not clear on the issue because it is vital to me that I clearly delineate my support for my Jewish friends here in the United States and abroad and my unequivocal denunciation of any harm perpetuated in the name of antisemitism. I have watched antisemitism run rampant in many of the areas where I have lived, from as early as I can remember understanding it. I worry for my Jewish friends daily, while also acknowledging the US’s history of white supremacy that has consistently contributed to making Jewish neighbors feel unsafe. It is important to me that a critique of Israel or Zionism in no way be understood as a critique of the Jewish people. To not highlight this would not align with my stand against anti-semitism, something I have made a priority in my work.
People of the world should not be able to secure freedom selectively. Some will ask me to highlight the complexities and “both sides” in this conversation. As we have seen across international news with Ed Sheeran’s tour, we cannot both “sides” around genocide without remaining complicit. I would prefer that the citizens of District 3 understand my heart and my desire for collective dignity than to wonder what I might say in Washington behind closed doors that I am unwilling to say here. Human rights are not a talking point for me. It is a minimum standard of care that I believe we owe to all – allies and enemies, those who agree and those who do not.