Scott Golden
State Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said in Chattanooga on Monday that the state is so solidly in Republican hands that "Tennessee and Oklahoma are over in the corner" at national GOP strategy sessions.
He told members of the Pachyderm Club that President Donald Trump "may wave at us as he flies over" as he visits hotly contested states.
With both the state Senate and House solidly in Republican hands, he said Democrats are focusing on the municipal level, working on building up strongholds in city governments in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis.
The speaker said Democrats poured $50 million into Tennessee in 2018 when former Governor Phil Bredesen was running for U.S. Senate. He said, "All they got out of it was one House seat."
In contrast, he said the three current Democratic candidates vying for the Senate seat being given up by Lamar Alexander "have just $300,000 between them."
Mr. Golden said Republicans have become adept at "geo-fencing" and collected much virtual information from those who attended the Trump rally at the Roundhouse and those standing outside.
He said of those there it can be found whether or not they are registered to vote. He said those not signed up to vote will be contacted and urged to do so.
Mr. Golden said the theory of how to get out the party message "has gone full circle and is back to the neighborhood level" featuring phone calls and door to door visits.
The speaker said the two political parties "have never been further apart."
He said Democrats stand for "open borders, Medicare for everyone, abortion on demand, and no guns."
Mr. Golden said the next president will be able to put three - or perhaps as many as four - new members on the U.S. Supreme Court.