Dueling endorsements in Nashville Senate race – Nashville Post

Among the most closely watched legislative races in the state is one in Davidson County, where Democrat Heidi Campbell, the mayor of Oak Hill, is seeking to unseat Republican Steve Dickerson.

The two have taken the race to the airwaves, both reporting television advertising buys to the Federal Communications Commission. But they’re also turning to outside groups for support.

Dickerson, an anesthesiologist, has recently scored endorsements from the Tennessee Education Association and the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club.

Though Dickerson was first elected with support from school privatization advocates, the anti-privatization TEA praised Dickerson for opposing recent efforts, including Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher bill that applied only in Nashville and Memphis.

Consistently rated among the least conservative Republicans in the super-majority, Dickerson celebrated the Sierra Club endorsement by claiming to have spent his life “consistently and proudly pro-environment.”

But another environmental group, the Nashville hub of the pro-Green New Deal Sunrise Movement, is backing Dickerson’s challenger, both the campaign and an organization representative said Monday. In addition to the support of most of the Democratic establishment in Nashville and across the state, the Campbell campaign this week is also touting the support of IATSE Local 492, a labor union for workers in the entertainment industry.

“I’m honored to earn the endorsement of the Sunrise Movement, because they know that I will prioritize green energy industry and environmental protections,” Campbell said. “We can nurture and protect our land, air, and water and fuel our economy at the same time. Our environment is something we all have in common.”