With Forrester’s Exit, Questions Loom for State Democrats

TNDP chairman Chip Forrester says he is stepping down.

The chairman of Tennessee’s Democratic Party says he won’t run for reelection this coming January. During Chip Forrester’s four years in charge, Democrats lost control of the governor’s office, along with numerous seats in the state legislature and in Congress.

Even Forrester’s critics say the party’s losses over the last few years aren’t all his fault. But news of his exit comes at an awkward time, less than two weeks before Republicans hope to seize an even bigger majority in the statehouse.

David Briley is a member of the state Democrats’ executive committee, and hasn’t always been the biggest fan of Forrester. Briley says the big question now is who will take over as chair next year.

“Is the Democratic party going to find someone other than a white guy to lead the party? Because I think that’s probably the biggest challenge.”

Briley expects the next chair will be someone who can unify the party, and of a younger set, from after the era of Al Gore.