Several high-profile attorneys at major law firms with offices in Tennessee were big donors to an exploratory committee for a Democrat attorney who considered running against U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R) in the 2024 election.
Attorney Joanna Sowell, who works at Wood Stabell Law Group, a Nashville law firm, raised more than $200,000 for her exploratory committee, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
Eventually she decided not to pursue the Senate seat, and refunded more than $128,000 in contributions.
“Tennessee deserves a senator who is committed to working across the aisle on the issues that matter the most, one who will represent the state with dignity and put partisanship aside,” Sowell said when she launched her exploratory committee in May.
Sowell is described on Wood Stabell’s website as “a community volunteer, entrepreneur, and a mom who is active in the community and uses her many talents to help those around her.”
According to FEC records, 27 attorneys who are employed by law firms with offices in Nashville contributed a total of $21,550 to fellow attorney Sowell’s now-defunct exploratory committee.
Three attorneys who work for the prestigious Nashville-based Bass, Berry, and Sims law firm contributed $1,750.
Seven attorneys who work for Holland & Knight, a Tampa, Florida-based law firm with a large presence in Nashville, contributed a total of $6,500.
Two remaining candidates are vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination and the chance to take on Blackburn in a long-shot bid to unseat the incumbent.
Blackburn’s most high-profile challenger is far-left gun control advocate and State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville).
Johnson once infamously compared Tennessee to North Korea.
“I feel like North Korea has more democracy than we do in the state of Tennessee, and it’s terrifying to me that we’re in this march to fascism,” State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) told Mother Jones in April. “And it seems like the Tennessee supermajority is leading the charge.”
“When my folks sent me here, they knew I was vocal, and they knew I would stand up and I would be their voice,” she continued. “And that’s why they sent me here. There’s no question about that. Everybody in the state knows that.”
Environmental activist Marquita, who won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in a race against Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in 2020, is also running in the primary.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
Photo “Joanne Sowell” by Joanne Sowell.
Editor’s note: Holland & Knight and its predecessor law firm have represented Star News Digital Media, which owns The Tennessee Star, since 2018.
NO surprise here. Sharks often roam together in schools.