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Supermajority: The Could-Be Candidate

Covenant Mom Melissa Alexander watches the Tennessee state legislature from the gallery. Kevin Wurm for NPR hide caption

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Supermajority: The Could-Be Candidate

The end of the 113th General Assembly of Tennessee is fast approaching. Melissa Alexander, Mary Joyce and Sarah Shoop Neumann have reached a new stage in their understanding of the statehouse. But they also face a new challenge: how to square their long-held conservative beliefs with the new politics they've picked up in the year since the shooting at their kids' school. When two of the women make a controversial decision, it threatens to upend everything they've worked for and splinter the bonds they've formed with one another. How will the women continue on? And what do the bills they've been tracking – ones that pass, and those that fail – mean for Tennessee's future? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Supermajority: A Common-Sense Caucus

Tennessee State Senator Richard Briggs speaks with a colleague. Kevin Wurm for NPR hide caption

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Supermajority: A Common-Sense Caucus

Melissa Alexander came to the Tennessee statehouse to convince members of the Republican party – her party – to adopt gun control measures after a mass shooting at her son's school. A year later, she doesn't feel like she's gotten through to many lawmakers. But there's at least one Republican senator who's made Melissa and the other Covenant moms feel welcome: Richard Briggs. Briggs has been in office for about a decade. He's a doctor and an army veteran. And recently, he's had to navigate a statehouse in transition. Briggs represents a faction of the Republican majority that isn't often visible: those who are concerned about the GOP's shift further to the right. They feel that they are a minority within the majority – stewards of what the party used to be. As Melissa contemplates a big decision, we turn to Briggs' story. What can more moderate Republicans achieve in the Tennessee legislature? And will Melissa decide to follow the path that Briggs has already been down? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Supermajority: The Roll Call

Melissa Alexander and Mary Joyce speak to state representative John Gillespie at the Tennessee statehouse. Kevin Wurm for NPR hide caption

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Supermajority: The Roll Call

It's been four months since the Covenant moms – lifelong conservatives Melissa Alexander, Mary Joyce and Sarah Shoop Neumann – pleaded with their lawmakers to pass gun control measures during a special session at the Tennessee statehouse. Now they're back – for months, not days – and this time, they feel prepared to face the GOP-dominated legislature. But when the 2024 legislative session begins, the mothers realize that the Republican majority's new bills may be more complicated than they anticipated. The women discover a long line of dissenters flocking to the statehouse, to protest bills about abortion, education, police violence and LGBTQ rights. Will the women stand alongside these other constituents and broaden their objectives beyond gun control? And what happens when they begin to imagine unseating one of their lawmakers? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Supermajority: The Covenant Moms
Kevin Wurm for NPR

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Supermajority: The Covenant Moms

In 2023, a mass shooter attacked The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, and three mothers were compelled to act. Their mission: help pass some kind of gun control in one of the reddest states in the country, a state where the Republican Party has a supermajority in the legislature. But these women aren't your typical gun control activists. They're lifelong conservatives, believers in the Second Amendment and – at first – sure that their own party will understand their concerns. In episode 1 of Supermajority from NPR's Embedded, host Meribah Knight follows the women as they enter the state capitol for the first time in their adult lives. Will these political newcomers get what they came for? And what happens if they challenge those in power to do it? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Introducing Supermajority from NPR and WPLN
Illustration by Luke Medina/NPR; Photo/Getty Images

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Introducing Supermajority from NPR and WPLN

Supermajority is a new 4-part series from NPR's Embedded, in partnership with Nashville Public Radio. As Americans focus on national politics this election year, we zoom in on one state and its political majority. Host Meribah Knight has been following three conservative moms in Tennessee over the course of a year as they learn to navigate their Republican-controlled state legislature. These political newcomers will confront powerful lawmakers, a dizzying legislative process and most importantly – their own long-held beliefs. What can these women accomplish? How will the work change them? And what might it all reveal about democracy? Launching Thursday, June 20. Embedded+ supporters enjoy early and ad-free access.

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