Marquita Bradshaw

Marquita Bradshaw (born January 19, 1974) is an American environmentalist, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee, losing the general election to Republican Bill Hagerty.[1][2][3] She was the first African American woman to win a major political party nomination in any statewide race in Tennessee.[4]

Marquita Bradshaw
Bradshaw speaking during the COVID-19 pandemic in Morristown, Tennessee.
Personal details
Born (1974-01-19) January 19, 1974
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
RelationsJohn DeBerry (uncle)
Children1
EducationUniversity of Memphis (BLS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life and education

Bradshaw was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee.

During her childhood, her family was active in raising awareness of pollution leaking from the Memphis Defense Depot, a contaminated military base in a largely African American neighborhood of Memphis that became a Superfund site in 1992.[5] Her parents organized a "concerned citizen committee" regarding the site because residents believed it was causing local health problems.[6]

In addition to her activist parents, Bradshaw was influenced by her uncle John DeBerry, who was for many years a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives.[7]

Bradshaw earned a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in journalism and communication studies from the University of Memphis.[8]

Career

She is the environmental justice chair of the Sierra Club's Tennessee chapter.[9] According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "She has worked with community advocacy groups, environmental organizations and unions, including the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, the AFL–CIO, the Sierra Club and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation."[10]

2020 U.S. Senate election
Main article: 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee

In 2020, Tennessee elected a replacement for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican who has announced his intention to retire.

Bradshaw announced her candidacy in the Democratic primary in October, 2019, telling the Nashville Scene, "What's going on in the Senate is that socially and economically, they don't represent what the constituents of Tennessee look like. The majority of Senate members are millionaires, and I'm a working-class single mother. There are other working-class people across Tennessee, and sometimes when those policies come down, they have unintended consequences that hurt working people."[7]

Bradshaw told the Tri-State Defender that "we are leading with environmental justice principles."[8] She told other reporters (WPLN News) "People of color, Black people, brown people, indigenous people and poor white people are not experiencing the same set of laws as everybody else when it comes to the environment.[11]

In addition to environmental issues, her platform endorsed Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.[12] She also supports universal background checks for gun purchases, keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in force, and overturning Citizens United v. FEC.[13]

In the Democratic primary, Bradshaw was one of five candidates, including DSCC-supported Army-veteran James Mackler. Mackler's campaign had raised $2.1 million, while Bradshaw's funding as of March was less than $10,000.[3][4][6] By the end of the primary campaign, Bradshaw had raised $24,000.[14] The general expectation was that Mackler would easily win against a divided field with four other candidates.[15]

On August 6, Bradshaw won, with 35.5% of the votes, while Mackler came in third with 23.8%.[16] Bradshaw's decisive primary win was unexpected; the Associated Press called it "an astonishing upset victory over the Democratic establishment's choice"[1] that "has drawn national attention."[2] Bradshaw's win was the first successful challenge to any DSCC-backed candidate since 2010.[17] Prior to Bradshaw's win in the primary, neither Tennessee Democrats nor Tennessee Republicans had ever chosen a Black woman as their candidate for statewide office.[2] She faced Republican nominee Bill Hagerty in the November 3, 2020, general election.[1] Hagerty defeated Bradshaw, receiving 62% of the vote to Bradshaw's 35%.[18]

Bradshaw pledged to visit every one of Tennessee's 95 counties to campaign for the general election.[2]

After her win in the primary, Bradshaw was congratulated, and later endorsed, by the Sunrise Movement.[19][20] In September, she was endorsed by Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders and the Sierra Club.[21][22]

References
  1. Mattise, Jonathan; Sainz, Adrian (August 6, 2020). "Hagerty vs. Bradshaw in race to succeed US Sen. Alexander". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 26, 2020. The race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander in November will feature a matchup between a Republican candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump and a Black activist who pulled off an astonishing upset victory over the Democratic establishment’s choice — with a campaign war chest of less than $10,000.
  2. Sainz, Adrian (August 8, 2020). "Bradshaw to visit every Tennessee county in Senate run". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 26, 2020. The progressive’s win over a field of Democrats, including establishment choice James Mackler, has drawn national attention in a Senate race where the focus had been on a contentious GOP primary featuring Hagerty and Nashville doctor Manny Sethi. Bradshaw is the first Black woman nominated for statewide office by either major political party in Tennessee.
  3. Plott, Elaina (August 7, 2020). "Marquita Bradshaw on Her Tennessee Primary Victory: 'I Could See the Momentum'". New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Ms. Bradshaw finished ahead of four opponents, including James Mackler, an Army veteran backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee who, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, had raised more than $2 million. The most recent filings available showed that Ms. Bradshaw’s campaign had raised only $8,400 by the end of March.
  4. Plazas, David (August 12, 2020). "Marquita Bradshaw could make history in Tennessee Senate race, but the fight is uphill all the way". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 26, 2020. The Democratic primary fielded five candidates, and on Thursday, Sierra Club organizer Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis won the race...She proved she could win her primary as an underdog. She raised only $8,420 in her election compared with $2.1 million raised by attorney and combat veteran James Mackler.
  5. Nelson, Gary (April 14, 2020). "Bradshaw seeks support in U.S. Senate race". Crossville Chronicle. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Bradshaw said she is a volunteer project director for Defense Depot Memphis, Concerned Citizens Committee. She is one of the 11 founding members of Youth Terminating Pollution. As a project director, Bradshaw said she fights for her childhood community, raises awareness and fights for justice for contamination from the Memphis Defense Depot Superfund site. The superfund site is a chemical and biological warfare landfill.
  6. Sainz, Adrian; Mattise, Jonathan (August 7, 2020). "Bradshaw overcomes odds to win Tenn. Senate nomination". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Bradshaw, who won Thursday’s Democratic primary election over a well-funded opponent in the contest to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood near an Army depot where waste disposal contaminated soil and groundwater. As residents got sick and died, her mother Doris and father Kenneth started the Defense Depot Memphis Concerned Citizen Committee, a group of teachers, business owners and professionals concerned about emerging health problems.
  7. Elliott, Stephen (October 3, 2019). "Another Democrat Joins U.S. Senate Race". Nashville Scene. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Bradshaw’s family members are no strangers to politics (though this is her first run for office) — her uncle is state Rep. John DeBerry (D-Memphis), and her mother Doris has been fighting for environmental justice in Memphis for decades. Marquita Bradshaw was by her parents’ side for much of the fight against a government-owned Superfund site in Memphis.
  8. Ajanaku, Karanja A. (August 13, 2020). "Marquita Bradshaw's 'active listening' campaign for the U.S. Senate". Tri-State Defender. Retrieved August 27, 2020. ..we are leading with environmental justice principles with the voices of the people who are experiencing the pain. It’s value and is put in this platform. By that way, we are being inclusive and it’s for everybody because we want America to be for all, not just for some people.
  9. "Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter". Sierra Club. 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020. Marquita Bradshaw, our Tennessee Chapter Environmental Justice Chair - the need to rid ourselves of racism in the fabric of America to achieve climate justice.
  10. "Bill Hagerty, Marquita Bradshaw to compete for Tennessee U.S. Senate seat". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  11. "These Democrats Are Hoping To Be The Long-Shot Winners Of Tennessee's Senate Seat". WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  12. "Issues | Marquita Bradshaw | US Senate". Bradshaw4senate.
  13. Pennacchia, Robin (August 7, 2020). "Progressive Underdog Marquita Bradshaw Wins TN Democratic Senate Primary On One-Eightieth The $$$". Wonkette. Retrieved September 4, 2020. Bradshaw campaigned on supporting universal background checks (she's a Moms Demand mom), Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, funding education as well as we fund our military, a living wage, overturning Citizens United, and keeping DACA. She also supports community policing and restorative justice.
  14. Dries, Bill (August 29, 2020). "Marquita Bradshaw: 'Not a fringe campaign'". Daily Memphian. Retrieved August 29, 2020. Since primary election night and her decisive victory over frontrunner James Mackler of Nashville, Bradshaw says she has raised 10 times more than what she spent on the primary campaign. That’s $270,000 compared to $24,000.
  15. Stockard, Sam (August 10, 2020). "Bradshaw upsets political world with U.S. Senate primary win". Daily Memphian. Retrieved August 29, 2020. Rhodes College political science professor Michael Nelson was among those who thought Mackler would win with ease. After all, he was set to run for the Senate two years ago before former Gov. Phil Bredesen stepped in, and he had the money and the endorsement of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
  16. West, Emily R; Hardiman, Samuel (August 6, 2020). "Marquita Bradshaw wins Tennessee's Democratic US Senate primary". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 26, 2020. The Memphis Democrat faced four challengers: Robin Kimbrough, James Mackler, Gary Davis and Mark Pickrell. Bradshaw won the race with 35.5% of the vote. Kimbrough had 26.6% and Mackler had 23.8%. Davis and Pickrell trailed with each winning less than 10% of the vote.
  17. Cioffi, Chris (December 7, 2018). "What just happened in Tennessee's Democratic Senate primary?". RollCall. Retrieved August 28, 2020. Mackler’s primary loss is the first for a DSCC-backed candidate since 2010, when Cal Cunningham lost a Democratic Senate primary in North Carolina...The DSCC’s endorsed candidates have been overwhelmingly successful in their primaries so far this election cycle. Until Mackler’s defeat, the party had a perfect primary streak
  18. "Tennessee U.S. Senate Election Results". New York Times.
  19. "Outraised 250-1, Progressive Marquita Bradshaw Upsets Establishment Opponent in Tennessee Primary for US Senate". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  20. Golshan, Tara (September 10, 2020). "Sunrise Movement Unveils 2020 Endorsements To Defeat Climate Change Deniers". HuffPost. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  21. "Endorsements | Warren Democrats". Elizabeth Warren. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  22. Schelzig, Erik (September 17, 2020). "Buttigeig endorses Bradshaw, Harris". The Tennessee Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Gordon Ball		 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Tennessee
(Class 2)
2020		 Most recent
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