On August 21, 1920, my great-great-grandfather on my dad’s side, Jacob Henry Simpson of Bradley County, Tennessee, missed the wedding ceremony of his daughter, Ethel Elizabeth (my great-grandmother).

In the preceding weeks, Jacob had been newly elected to fill a vacancy in the 61st General Assembly as a Tennessee State Representative. Mere days before Ethel’s nuptials, Jacob was called to an extra session and reported immediately to Nashville on or around August 10.

In case your history is foggy, 1920 was a critical year for the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. While the Women’s Suffrage Movement was widely known on a national scale, only Tennesseeans share the pride of being known as “The Perfect 36” because, as the thirty-sixth of the forty-eight states needed to approve the amendment, it rounded out the three-fourths majority required to amend the Constitution.

As you might be piecing together at this point, my great-great-grandfather, Jacob Simpson, was part of that historic vote. This has been widely known family lore for decades, and a detail I’ve been proud to carry as a daughter of generations of patriots who love and serve this country.

However, I recently learned that Jacob had originally been part of the anti-suffrage movement, and it wasn’t until the special session, and hearing lobbyists as well as moral appeals, that Jacob, like others, changed his original vote from a “nay” to an “aye.”

When Jake returned home to Cleveland, TN. he encountered public criticism for helping to pass the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution(“Cleveland Banner”, Aug. 26, 1920). However, Jake stood his ground saying he was proud to vote in behalf of the women of the Nation. Jake had been called to an anti-woman suffrage gathering at the Cleveland Courthouse Lawn to give some explanation for his vote. Jake defended his position to the crowd. He later told the newspaper that the angry people in the horde(not just men but women)were, “…an aggregation of just about all of the worst elements of society that could be herded together”(“Nashville Tennesseean”, Aug. 26, 1920). (Source)

You may be thinking that this all sounds like a nice little trip down memory lane with family genealogy, referencing a shift in the political and societal fabric of America. You’d be right.

The thesis here is that Jacob Simpson changed his mind, and in doing so, changed history.

I believe he did so by doing the following:

• He surveyed his political and cultural surroundings
• He listened to other voices and considered an alternate viewpoint
• He used reason to make an informed decision
• He used his convictions and his position to take decisive action
• He helped to disrupt the status quo and changed history

Changing your mind and changing history is what I want to address today, because I believe we are standing in another moment that requires that same courage.

Over the past decade (or more), so many of us have found ourselves in a place where we feel like we don’t know what to do with our patriotism or civic duty when we don’t see a way to reconcile our faith and our lived experiences with the current options offered by two very polarized political parties.

A term I’ve used regularly is Politically Homeless.

In good conscience, many of us find we can no longer support a single political party or its leaders. I used to think I was practically alone in feeling this way. There was no space among friends (and family) or online to voice these leanings. And yet, what I have seen and experienced following the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections has left me truly in awe of … well, a lot.

I don’t need to elaborate upon the innumerable instances of declining trust in our political process, our leaders, and, quite frankly, in each other, as America has experienced a period of institutional and cultural fraying.

As I have become braver and more vocal about how I feel, I’ve learned that I’m not alone and that there are actually quite a lot of folks who feel like there has to be a better way. The growing divide in our politics is making it harder to find common ground. And I believe there are more people in the middle space between these extremes that want to see positive, liveable, accountable, and civil changes to our political landscape.

If you have felt confused, heartbroken, angry, hopeless, or even dumbfounded by what you’ve seen play out in America, I invite you to reconsider your loyalty to a single party and learn more about a third option where “Government works best when ideas compete, not politicians.”

In 2026, Tennesseeans get the chance to choose a better way going forward. We get a third, viable option in the form of an Independent candidate, Lauren Pinkston.

Tennessee has long been a trend-setting and respectable state. One way we stay the course is to remain innovative in how we think about our representation.

A governor is not simply a figurehead. In a state where one party holds dominant power, the governor helps set the pace and direction of nearly everything that touches daily life — schools, healthcare, taxes, public safety, disaster response.

(Image credit: pinkstonfortn Instagram)

We have a chance to elect a gubernatorial candidate who wishes to direct her leadership based on restoring public trust in the public square, and whose core values include:

• authentic leadership
• fiscal conservatism
• social safety
• practical positions
• innovative solutions

(You can read up on over 90 policy positions Lauren stands for here.)

Wherever you find yourself today on the political spectrum or as a citizen of Tennessee and America, I ask that like Jacob Simpson, you, too, would survey your political and cultural surroundings, listen to other voices and consider an alternative viewpoint, use reason to make an informed decision, use your convictions and your position to take decisive action, and help to disrupt the status quo and change history.

I truly believe that women like you and me will make history for Tennessee again in 2026 by electing our state’s first independent and female governor.

History remembers those willing to reconsider, to listen, and to act. Tennessee once changed the course of the nation because enough people were willing to think independently. May we be called to do so again.

We are people of deep conviction, deep faith, and deep influence in our circles, and we have an opportunity to make our voices heard by voting in the midterms this year.

Next Steps:

Check your voter registration status by checking your county’s election commission or searching the Tennessee Voter Registration Lookup.

If you aren’t registered to vote, you can conveniently do so online. (Now is the time to do this so you’re all squared away ahead of November 3, or sooner if you’re like me and have to vote absentee as a military spouse.)

Check out Pinkston for Governor and learn more about Lauren Pinkston’s background, values, positions, and ways to connect with her online or at one of the 510 local events she’ll be hosting in her race to become the 51st governor of Tennessee. You can also volunteer, donate to her campaign, or purchase merch–all three of which I’ve done!

Follow Lauren Pinkston on Facebook or Instagram.

Have a 1:1 conversation with me about this in person, via phone call or text, or by email at rctmkwood@gmail.com. I’d love to chat!