Maryam Abolfazli is running for Congress

Maryam Abolfazli has officially launched her campaign for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District seat, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles. Abolfazli is running as a Democrat in a gerrymandered district that encompasses parts of Davidson and Williamson counties and southern Middle Tennessee.

After the Covenant School shooting, Abolfazli arranged a protest on gun safety that drew thousands of Tennesseans to the state Capitol. Leaning on her background in nonprofit work and international political and economic development, she later founded nonprofit Rise and Shine Tennessee, which seeks to build “a culture of civic engagement,” advocating around issues like gun safety, education and more. Abolfazli and her colleagues have become familiar faces at the Capitol, sitting in committee rooms with signs, holding press conferences and testifying against different bills.

During last year’s special session, Abolfazli and two fellow Rise and Shine representatives were removed from a House committee after new rules sought to prevent spectators from holding signs. The next day, they filed a successful lawsuit against the House — citing the First Amendment, a Nashville judge temporarily barred the House from prohibiting signs. 

Chair of the Metro Human Relations Commission, Abolfazli has also done a lot of local-level advocacy in Nashville around issues like the Titans stadium deal and LGBTQ rights. A press release about her campaign emphasizes reproductive rights. 

Nashvillians of the Year: The Gun Safety Advocates

Abolfazli tells The News sister publication the Nashville Scene that while she thought she would eventually run for office, she wasn’t planning to do it this year. 

“The GOP keeps pushing women and moms to the edge,” says Abolfazli on her decision to run. “It's so difficult to have a family and raise your children in a safe and warm and free environment. And after the Alabama decision on IVF, it just got really clear that this isn't stopping. … I just decided, I could wait two years, I could wait four years, but more bad stuff will happen.”

Acknowledging that “we've got incredible people running at the state level,” Abolfazli decided to run for Ogles’ seat because “he clearly has just demonstrated that he’s basically doing nothing that has anything to do with Tennessean concerns.”

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.