TN-05: Columbia mayor weighs run as Democrat in 5th Congressional District
Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder confirmed this week he is “strongly considering” entering the 5th Congressional District race as a Democrat, potentially setting up a 2026 race with Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles.
If he enters the contest, Molder would join Metro Council member Mike Cortese, who has announced his candidacy and filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, adjunct professor Joyce Neal and healthcare executive Jim Torino in a Democratic primary. Political activist Maryam Abolfazli, who lost to Ogles in 2024, has made overtures about running again.
“We deserve a congressman who wants to go to Washington to make local headlines for the right reasons, instead of attempting to make national headlines for the wrong reasons,” Molder said in a statement to the Lookout. “Our current congressman’s latest antics of attacking Belmont University are disturbing, and are becoming too familiar to all of us in the 5th Congressional District. For these reasons, I can confirm I am strongly considering this race – not because of encouragement from outsiders, but because of encouragement from those who live inside the district.”
Molder’s statement references Ogles’ call for a U.S. Department of Education investigation of Belmont University and cut in the school’s federal funding for allegedly renaming a diversity, equity and inclusion program as “Hope, Unity and Belonging” to keep it intact, despite a federal law and executive order requiring DEI programs to be eliminated.
https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/22/columbia-mayor-weighs-run-as-democrat-in-5th-congressional-district/