Greetings all. Excited to bring you another conversation with one of our compelling candidates on the front lines - Chaz Molder, Mayor of Columbia, TN who is running to flip TN-05, a district in Middle Tennessee. A video recording of our discussion is above, and a full bio, detailed bio is below.
Mayor Molder is one of the twelve candidates in our Winning The House campaign, a collection of candidates most likely to flip red House seats blue this year and retake the House for Democrats next January. You can support Mayor Molder by giving to all twelve candidates with one click, or by giving to his campaign directly. You can learn more or volunteer for the mayor’s campaign here.
Here’s some of what the mayor shared with us:
Well, and more importantly, Simon, from my perspective, Andy Ogles has betrayed the fifth congressional district. Andy Ogles campaigned on lowering costs and bringing down prices. You mentioned fertilizer… it’s up over 40 percent. I live and am raising my family and am mayor of a community called Columbia, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. It’s where the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation state headquarters is located. I drive past the state headquarters of Farm Bureau on a daily basis, with not only leaders in that organization, but also farmers. They’re struggling, they’re worried, they don’t want a handout, they want to do their job and do the work and they don’t want to have to worry about external factors such as diesel being over $5 a gallon.
So I have some firsthand knowledge relative to the agricultural sector. As you also know, Nashville being a part of this district is a hub for the healthcare industry. And so there are a lot of issues on healthcare that are very important to this region and that we are continuing our focus on in this campaign. And it’s why we’re resonating across this district.
The mayor was featured in a NYT article yesterday that is well worth your time (gift link):
Here’s a bit more about this tough district:
Thanks to the remarkable, proud, and committed patriots in this community we’ve already raised over $580,000 for these twelve candidates this cycle, and over $3,000,000 for battleground House candidates over the past two years.
One of our main goals this year is to help Democrats win in red places and red states. Winning this district, which is a whole lot of both, will be a true test of our ability to expand the map and help the talented crew that has stepped up this cycle beat MAGA extremists (and few are more extreme than Ogles).
Get to know the mayor, support him if you can, and keep working hard all. We have a country to save, and an election to win, together! - Simon
Bio - Mayor Chaz Molder, candidate for the US House running in TN-05
Born and raised in Columbia, a product of Columbia's public schools, a graduate of the University of Tennessee, and law school graduate of the University of Memphis, Chaz Molder was elected as Columbia’s mayor in 2018. At that time, he was the youngest mayor in Tennessee and the youngest mayor in his city’s 200+ year history.
As Mayor, Chaz has earned a reputation for bringing people together to solve problems. He’s passed seven balanced budgets with no property tax increases, while simultaneously investing in education and public safety. He also made critical infrastructure investments, while saving taxpayers $10.5 million through strong fiscal management. Chaz also formed Columbia Mayor’s Youth Council to help inspire the next generation to make a positive impact in their hometown.
Chaz is married to Elizabeth Molder, who is a former public school teacher. Chaz and Liz have three wonderful children who all attend local public schools in Columbia. The Molders are active members of First United Methodist Church in Columbia, the same Church Chaz grew up in, and where his father is a 30 year plus Sunday School teacher.
Chaz is an avid runner and enjoys sports, hunting, and spending time outdoors with his family.
Learn more about Mayor Molder here and at ChazMolder.com.
