Opinion: GOP hopefuls in Tennessee remain in the driver’s seat. But some are failing the likability test.
“A clean Republican sweep in Tennessee, while still likely, is no longer an automatic slam dunk.”
Topic: Otis Sanford
RSSThere are 120 article(s) tagged Otis Sanford:
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October 2026
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September 2026
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Sanford: Political fighting in Memphis and across America is hurting local Democrats
“With Republicans refusing to address high gas prices, heavy-handed immigration policies and blatant corruption by President Trump, Democrats have been handed all the ammunition they need to put their GOP opponents on the defensive. But instead, some are fighting each other.”
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Sanford: Despite numbers favoring GOP, those seeking elected office should debate
Unlike other Republican candidates, 5th District Republican nominee Charlie Hatcher’s campaign has said he’s willing to debate Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, the district’s Democratic nominee.
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August 2026
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Sanford: A closer look at red state Tennessee’s mad dash to erase the blue
“The scuttlebutt started at the Tennessee State Capitol several months before the U.S. Supreme Court took a scalpel to Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.”
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July 2026
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Sanford: An alarming call to salvage the soul of newspapers
“As a former newspaper editor with an impeccable reputation in daily and academic journalism circles, Ken Paulson is sounding the alarm about the increasing demise of editorials in local newspapers.”
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June 2026
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Opinion: Politics aside? When it comes to Otis Sanford — not quite
Opinion: “Otis Sanford begins his recent column with a reasonable premise: Politics should be set aside when discussing the federal indictment of suspended General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer. Unfortunately, that’s not what follows.”
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Calkins: Otis Sanford tells his story — and it’s one that you should hear.
When Otis Sanford was growing up in Mississippi, his father would ask him, “What’s in the news?” Answering that question has taken Sanford to places neither of them could possibly have imagined. Now he’s captured the journey in a new book.
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May 2026
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Sanford: GOP gerrymandering of 9th District is Jim Crow racism revisited
My mother, along with a handful of other Black Panola County residents, registered to vote during one of the most precarious times for Black people in the South. It came just six days after the bodies of three Civil Rights workers were discovered in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
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March 2026
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Sanford: State lawmaker’s return to Nashville likely depends on write-ins
“Failing to take care of something so basic as filing a valid petition with 25 legitimate signatures shows an inattention to detail that warrants criticism.”
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February 2026
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Sanford: Ford’s guilty plea, arrogant demeanor further tarnish family legacy
“The troubling thing about this case is that Ford learned nothing from all the past instances and allegations of local public corruption — some of it involving members of his own family.”
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January 2026
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Opinion: Increasing voter turnout is laudable. Feagins’ mayoral candidacy is not.
“It’s one thing to wage a public fight against a divided MSCS board. It’s quite another to wage a costly political campaign against other, far more entrenched opponents.”
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November 2025
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Opinion: Brent Taylor accuses Otis Sanford of ‘shag carpet’ hypocrisy
Otis Sanford “accuses Republicans of selective fury while practicing it himself: outraged at Trump’s pardons for nonviolent individuals but mute about Biden’s pardons for violent criminals.”
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August 2025
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Sanford: Republican assault on DEI exacts harsh toll at U of M
“In a way, I sympathize with the dilemma facing the U of M and other state colleges and universities. But, what’s next?”
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July 2025
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Brilliance, courage defined journalist, and amigo, Karanja Ajanaku
One day in late May 1977, a young Black man took a seat at a desk for his first day as a reporter at The Commercial Appeal.
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March 2025
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Sanford: Proposal puts state’s human rights enforcement in jeopardy
State lawmakers are looking to eliminate the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, which looks into about 180 complaints about discrimination every month.
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February 2025
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Sanford: A Delta newspaper and an assault on freedom of the press
The Clarksdale Press Register garnered national attention recently after a judge ordered the paper to take down an editorial critical of Clarksdale’s elected officials.
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January 2025
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Sanford: Firing Feagins was unwise, but she shares the blame
“Now what we have is chaos on steroids. The board is seen as a laughingstock, except no one is laughing.”
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December 2024
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Sanford: Five stories that defined 2024 and two to watch for in 2025
From the DOJ’s report on the MPD to Elon Musk and the xAI supercomputer, here are Otis Sanford’s top five local stories for 2024.
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Sanford: Abusive behavior of Crisis Intervention Team belies intent
The Crisis Intervention Team has strayed far from its initial goals of treating those with mental-health issues more humanely.
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November 2024
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Sanford: It’s time to end protracted effort to oust Wanda Halbert
I say it’s time to end the costly courtroom haggling. It’s clear that Halbert is not leaving on her own, and conditions in the Clerk’s Office don’t appear to have further deteriorated. And soon she’ll be a lame duck.
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Sanford: From one legend to another, it’s time to give Jesse Turner his due
In an opinion piece, Otis Sanford says Jesse Turner has a section of Regional One Health named in his honor, as well as a South Memphis park and a small bridge on Elvis Presley Boulevard. But is it enough?
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October 2024
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Sanford: Heated presidential race still a spectator sport for Tennessee
Opinion: Our votes will decide nothing. Only the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and possibly Nevada and North Carolina will determine the next president.
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Sanford: Deception and poor taste are hallmarks of 2024 political campaigns
In today’s political climate, honesty and good taste are in short supply.
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September 2024
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Sanford: It’s time for squabbling Democrats to put aside their differences
Bickering is nothing new for Tennessee Democrats. But party chair Lexie Carter’s removal, at the hand of the state party chair, also could not come at a worse time.
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Sanford: Liberated state rep. exits politics with harsh words for GOP
“Dwayne Thompson’s caucus has repeatedly tried to steer the Legislature, particularly the House, toward more compromise, less rancor and far less dictatorship. It hasn’t worked. And Thompson has had enough.”
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