An unexpected District 8 vacancy left Anderson County Democrats with a short clock and an unusual decision: who should choose the nominee? We chose to write the rules first and put that decision in the hands of District 8 Democrats.

A $45,000 budget fight exposed a much bigger issue: who controls Anderson County’s public libraries, who gets to make those decisions, and what happens when the money moves before the Library Board votes.

Anderson County is Trump +36 territory. On Thursday, Democrats elected four county commissioners and posted their strongest August turnout in years. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because candidates ran, volunteers organized and voters showed up. A blue wave isn’t something that happens to us. It’s something we build.

Early voting begins July 17. Meet the Democratic candidates running for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, the Tennessee General Assembly, and local office in Anderson County.

House District 33 Democrats are not just choosing between two names on a ballot. They are helping decide what kind of campaign moves into November. Watch the full candidate forum with Anne Backus and Kelly McCampbell, view section-by-section clips, and make a plan to vote in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary.

At the May meeting of the Anderson County Library Board, a red line was crossed. A pro-censorship faction created a way around the process we already had. Public libraries belong to the public. If we want to keep them that way, we have to show up.