Alarm as Tennessee libraries shut down for Republican 'book purge'

[yellowdogintexas]

21. This is based on events in Tarrant County Texas (where I live)

I have not had a chance to see it; when it played in Ft Worth it sold out in a day. The producers are trying to negotiate another showing at the Modern Art Museum Theater (where it played earlier this month)

We have a runoff in a State Senate Special Election coming up in January. It was a 3 way race; 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat. Taylor Rehmet (The Democrat) got 48% of the vote against 2 Republicans. His Republican opponent in the runoff is heavily funded by Patriot Mobile and other MAGA groups. If we manage to flip this seat, it will be big news as it is a clear sign of change.

A wrap up of the original election from Fort Worth Report:
Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union organizer, led with 47.57% of early votes, while Wambsganss, chief communications officer for the Patriot Mobile wireless service provider, received 35.94%.

Rehmet’s near-victory was unexpected by many, as the seat has been held by Republicans since 1991. The Democrat’s two Republican opponents, Wambsganss and former Southlake Mayor John Huffman, spent a bulk of their campaigns attacking each other as fake or insincere conservatives.

Rehmet ran a relatively low-budget campaign of about $120,000 raised from July to late October, compared to Wambsganss’ raised budgets of $1.6 million. The Democrat’s campaign emphasizes workers’ rights and is funded mostly by unions and small individual donations. Several Democratic lawmakers made donations in the $1,000 range.

“When you talk with people instead of at them, when you organize block by block instead of begging billionaires for checks, when you fight like hell for working families because you are one, this is what happens,” Rehmet said in a statement after the election results.

Wambsganss, who described herself as “ultra-MAGA” and is running on issues including tax cuts and gun rights, has a campaign largely bankrolled by Republican billionaires.

“The conservative voters of SD9 have spoken clearly and distinctly. They want to send a conservative patriot to Austin to represent them,” Wambsganss said in an election night statement.

Wambsganss is a Christian Nationalist, anti-DEI, anti "Critical Race Theory", and anti LGBTQ "indoctrination. The PAC she chaired worked to elect conservative school board members in 2022. (In 2024, the Patriot Mobil Action PAC lost all their school board races except 1)