Any politician faces an essential bind: convince voters of your selflessness while seeking out power. Shaundelle Brooks — formerly employed in the Tennessee juvenile justice system, then an adult parole officer — identifies first as a mom. She came to politics in grief, having lost her son Akilah DaSilva in a 2018 shooting at an Antioch Waffle House, and earns credibility with voters every time she displays the vulnerability of a first-time candidate navigating a political process while still dead set on making a difference. Her top issue, gun violence, happens to be a key weakness for Republicans, who have stubbornly avoided softening their absolute stance against gun control. Brooks won the Democratic primary for state House District 60 in August, and she faces Republican Chad Bobo, a former Cameron Sexton aide, in the general election Nov. 5.
Best Political Newcomer
Shaundelle Brooks
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Eli Motycka
Staff Reporter
Shaundelle Brooks
Eli Motycka
Staff Reporter
