{"id":6193,"date":"2026-06-17T19:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/the-independent-plan-to-flip-tennessee-with-lauren-pinkston-independent-for-governor-of-tennessee\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:35:00","slug":"the-independent-plan-to-flip-tennessee-with-lauren-pinkston-independent-for-governor-of-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/the-independent-plan-to-flip-tennessee-with-lauren-pinkston-independent-for-governor-of-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"The Independent Plan to Flip Tennessee with Lauren Pinkston &#8211; Independent for Governor of Tennessee."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>With 2 Million Independent TN Voters 775k Votes is the Magic Number. Where Do Trump Voters Go Next? Reason Over Extremism. Independence Never Goes Out Of Style.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Tennessee looks like a red wall on the map. Look closer. Roughly 48% of eligible voters there are unaffiliated \u2014 the highest share in the state (34%-R\/18%-D\/48%-I) \u2014 and only a third of them bothered to show up last midterm. That&#8217;s not apathy. That&#8217;s the angry middle waiting for someone worth voting for. Lauren Pinkston, independent candidate for governor, joins Paul to make the case that 2026 is the year Tennessee breaks the one-party stranglehold, and she&#8217;s got the math, the ground game, and the biography to back it up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pinkston is a seventh-generation Tennessean, a PhD in international development who lived five years inside a communist country watching elections up close, a mother advocating for a child with special needs, and a founder who built a business with survivors of human trafficking. In this conversation, she breaks down the 775,000-vote path to victory, why 60-70% of her incoming support is Republicans looking for an off-ramp from the MAGA machine, the $83 billion road backlog Nashville won&#8217;t touch, the housing crisis pricing working families out of their own state, and why open primaries are non-negotiable for anyone who actually believes in the Constitution. It&#8217;s a briefing on what independent infrastructure looks like when it&#8217;s built right \u2014 couch by couch, county by county.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vbNAArbyR3w\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kalshi.com\/r\/INDEPENDENT\"><span>Kalshi and trade on anything<\/span><\/a><span>. Use code [INDEPENDENT] to get ten dollars when you<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>trade ten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/noblemobile.com\/paul\"><span>Noble Mobile today and get a $100 bonus<\/span><\/a><span> when you use code PAUL and stay a member for 2 months!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>IVA and help us get independent veterans elected to office<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Remember <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/do8wjRtDZJ4?feature=share\"><span>Independent is an Attitude<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theheadstrongproject.org\/\"><span> The Headstrong Project <\/span><\/a><span>for Veterans, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taps.org\/\"><span>Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/health-needs-conditions\/mental-health\/\"><span>Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area<\/span><\/a><span>. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It\u2019s a show of strength. <\/span><span>If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tennessee looks like a red wall on the map. Look closer. Roughly 48% of eligible voters there are unaffiliated \u2014 the highest share in the country \u2014 and only a third of them bothered to show up last midterm. That&#8217;s not apathy. That&#8217;s the angry middle waiting for someone worth voting for. Lauren Pinkston, independent candidate for governor, joins Paul to make the case that 2026 is the year Tennessee breaks the one-party stranglehold, and she&#8217;s got the math, the ground game, and the biography to back it up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ia-promo-square-ep553.jpg",1400,1400,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Tennessee looks like a red wall on the map. Look closer. Roughly 48% of eligible voters there are unaffiliated \u2014 the highest share in the country \u2014 and only a third of them bothered to show up last midterm. That's not apathy. That's the angry middle waiting for someone worth voting for. Lauren Pinkston, independent&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}