For Lee Mills, Chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, results from the 2018 Midterms don't foreshadow any major concerns for suburban politicians, even though local Democrats are starting to run stronger candidates in safely red districts.
Big wins by both Bill Lee for governor and Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate indicate to him that the Shelby suburbs will remain solidly red if the party can stay energized.
And that's where Donald Trump comes in. "He made the Midterms great again," said Mills, adding that President Trump's political style fueled high voter turnout from both parties.
Mills says that the party's next goal is to build a more active base of younger, vocal Republicans in a county that contains the largest number of both Democrats and Republicans.
