Williamson County’s new Democrat chair talks centrism—and establishment Republicans are all ears. Jack Johnson & Co. aren’t fighting the left, they’re courting it, hoping crossover voters will keep RINOs in power.
By Kelly Jackson | TruthWire News
The newly elected chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party, Ragan Grossman, says she’s ready to “build a community.” But from the sound of her early messaging, what she’s really building is a bridge—straight to the establishment wing of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Grossman, a Franklin native and 1999 graduate of Franklin High School, now leads a local party battered by years of losses at the county, state, and federal level. She’s taken the reins with a pragmatic tone, stressing a need to focus on “reasonable representatives” and “meeting people where they are.” But in today’s Tennessee politics, that kind of language doesn’t sound like opposition—it sounds like an echo.
Grossman’s centrist overtures are virtually indistinguishable from the political patter of Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, the Williamson County Republican who rarely misses an opportunity to posture to the right while voting squarely for the middle. Johnson, who faces reelection soon, has every reason to welcome voices like Grossman’s into the local political conversation. Her emphasis on centrism offers Johnson and his allies a convenient foil to the grassroots GOP base—especially those tired of being called “extremists” for expecting their elected officials to vote like conservatives in a red county.
It also explains why Johnson and State Rep. Lee Reeves championed a state law this year designed to strip county Republican parties of their right to run their own primaries. With Democrats like Grossman preaching moderation and “common ground,” the establishment GOP saw an opening: create conditions where Democrats can quietly subsidize RINO campaigns by flooding Republican primaries with crossover votes.
Grossman may genuinely hope to get more Democrats elected in Williamson County. But her real-world utility—for now—is in helping keep certain Republicans in power. She’s not the threat Jack Johnson warns about. She’s the perfect political accessory: someone who can be held up as “opposition,” but who never really threatens the status quo.
While the WCDP has seen a modest membership uptick since the Trump years, its broader influence has been limited—particularly after Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid. Grossman, in a recent local interview, tried to turn that disappointment into a rallying cry: “If we need to be part of the Resistance, tell us how to do this.”
But for all the talk of “resisting,” her actual agenda looks more like repositioning. Yes, she pledges support for progressive causes like DEI and LGBTQ+ issues. But she’s also quick to say that the party needs to focus on “what affects people every day”—healthcare, the economy, and other broadly palatable concerns.
In other words: lean just left enough to keep progressives placated, but moderate enough to avoid scaring the neighbors.
This tightrope walk is exactly what establishment Republicans prefer. Why deal with unpredictable grassroots conservatives when you can run against Democrats who sound like you? Grossman even acknowledged, “Most of America hugs the center,” adding, “I would make the argument that the Democratic Party, certainly in this area, is closer to the center, which means we are closer to those moderate Republicans than the extremists in their own party.”
That wasn’t a warning. It was an invitation.
Grossman says her team is focused on “reclaiming what it means to be a Democrat.” But if reclaiming the label means embracing the same vague, poll-tested centrism already dominant in Williamson County Republican politics, what’s really being reclaimed?
The answer lies in which candidates benefit. If past patterns hold, expect to see well-funded Republicans with a record of voting against their own base touting their “bipartisan appeal” while quietly hoping voters forget how they got there. And if crossover Democrats boost their primary margins, so much the better.
In the end, Grossman may succeed in recruiting a few more Democrats to run for school board and county commission. But the real winners of her leadership could very well be the same establishment Republicans who helped rig the game to begin with.
Because when both parties hug the middle, the people who lose are the ones who thought they were voting for something different.
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