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TN Politics: Centering Senators and Police Surveillance in Memphis

As former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn begin stumping for the open U.S. Senate seat, Bredesen appears to be moving to the center and focusing on statewide issues such as Asian Carp in rivers and broadband internet in rural areas. Meanwhile, Blackburn is focusing on hotbed national issues such as immigration, abortion and deregulation. 

Political analyst Otis Sanford says that the state's voters have a history of gravitating toward the center line, and that Bredesen is playing the safest game, while Blackburn would do well to make a bid for independents.

Also this week, Sanford talks about a federal trial between the City of Memphis and the ACLU of Tennessee, which argued that police surveillance of local political activists violates a 1978 consent decree forbidding the tactics. Sanford explains why the '78 agreement was made, and who will have to deal with the fallout of the trial. 

Reporting from the gates of Graceland to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, Christopher has covered Memphis news, arts, culture and politics for more than 20 years in print and on the radio. He is currently WKNO's News Director and Senior Producer at the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. Join his conversations about the Memphis arts scene on the WKNO Culture Desk Facebook page.