Candidates mirror a shift in support for surveillance technology, with many proposing privacy restrictions and other guardrails.
Image Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner & Canva.
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Article by Steven Hale [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –
When the Banner asked readers what issues were on their minds ahead of elections this fall, surveillance and technology like AI were among the most commonly cited.
In Nashville, community opposition to the Metro Nashville Police Department’s bid to deploy automated license plate readers stalled the plan last year, in what became a precursor to fights across the state and country over roadway surveillance cameras.
Meanwhile, the push to construct new data centers to fuel the race for more advanced AI has met massive backlash, too.
Opposition to planned data centers next to the Nashville Zoo and on the campus of Fisk University quickly became an unavoidable story in local politics this summer.
But as Election Day approaches, with candidates for the state legislature, Congress and the governor’s mansion on the ballot, debates surrounding surveillance and AI are far from settled. Both issues have scrambled traditional partisan divides.
LPRs and cameras
The way opposition to LPRs, and their leading corporate purveyor Flock, has transformed from a niche fixation to a significant political issue can be seen in the way Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican candidate for governor, has shifted her public stance on the matter.
In a response to the Banner’s candidate questionnaire earlier this year, Blackburn called the cameras and other automated surveillance technology “a commonsense measure to protect our communities,” while adding that she would also advocate for Tennesseans’ privacy.
At a campaign event in August, alongside the vocally Flock-skeptical Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, she began her comments with “we have to protect people’s privacy.” Most recently, at a campaign stop in Knoxville last month, Blackburn suggested even more concern.
“Everybody’s got that right to privacy,” she said. “I want to make certain we never, ever end up with a surveillance state like you have in China.”
Although her policy vision on the issue is unclear — she reportedly said the state should examine the governance surrounding the cameras — her support from Jacobs is relevant. He supported a move to eliminate LPRs in Knox County and has been rumored as a possible replacement for Blackburn in the U.S. Senate if she is elected governor.
Blackburn’s main opponent, Democrat nominee Jerri Green, said in her own Banner questionnaire that “unregulated mass surveillance threatens our basic constitutional privacy” and that “strict, non-negotiable guardrails” must be put in place. Those would include, she said, limits on data retention and a prohibition on sharing local surveillance data with federal immigration authorities.
Independent candidate Lauren Pinkston has also said she supports what her campaign called “clear limits” on LPRs, including requiring human confirmation of LPR tips and mandating formal requests from outside agencies instead of free browsing of an open network.
One anti-LPR advocate working on the issue expressed frustration to the Banner that David Hatley, the other independent candidate who has attracted some attention, is the only one calling for an outright ban. His campaign site says the cameras are helping solve crimes but are ultimately “getting abused far too often across our great state.”
Whoever is elected governor may well be asked to weigh in on state legislation related to LPR restrictions, as some lawmakers have indicated an intent to pursue them.
In one Nashville-area state House race, the Republican candidate is going the other way.
In House District 60, Eva Romero, the Republican challenger to incumbent Rep. Shaundelle Brooks (D-Hermitage) has supported LPR deployment and said she would “push for state legislation ensuring that local officials cannot prevent police departments from connecting to available public safety data feeds and technology.”
In the race for the open House District 59 seat, Democrat candidate Mark Proctor — running against Republican Bill Hancock — has said he supports the use of LPRs with “guardrails”, citing his experience as a retired Tennessee Highway Patrol major.
At the congressional level, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) has taken the most aggressive stance against LPRs, filing legislation to prohibit federal agencies from purchasing or accessing them. Eight other House members have signed on as cosponsors, but no one from the Tennessee delegation has.
That includes incumbent Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-Clarksville), who won a special election in 2025 to represent the 7th Congressional District before it was redrawn earlier this year. He doesn’t mention LPRs on his campaign website and did not respond to the Banner’s candidate questionnaire. His Democrat opponent Darden Copeland said at a campaign event earlier this month that he doesn’t think “we need them in any community right now.”
In House District 6, Democrat candidate Mike Croley — running against state Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) — has expressed support for restrictions on LPRs and praised local leaders who have eliminated them.
AI and data centers
AI recently became a central issue in the gubernatorial race for reasons less dire than insider warnings about massive job loss or human extinction. Last week, Blackburn’s campaign shared an AI-generated video showing her in the role of Kendrick Lamar performing the song “Not Like Us,” surrounded by political allies like Burchett and Jacobs (dressed as his pro wrestling character, Kane).
But Blackburn has also been at the center of debates about AI in more substantive ways. Time Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in AI last year after she effectively blocked an effort by Senate Republicans to stop states from passing their own AI regulations.
She has been particularly vocal about AI’s potential harms to children and people in the music industry. She sponsored legislation with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) aimed at protecting musicians and their work from unauthorized use for AI training.
Blackburn also joined the wave of opposition to the planned data center next to the Nashville Zoo.
Green has said that as governor she would sign an executive order implementing a “statewide data center moratorium” and pursue a “Human-First AI Agenda” that would include restrictions on AI use and efforts to combat AI-driven misinformation.
Democrats running in congressional races have sounded a similar note. In the 6th District, Croley said in his Banner questionnaire that he favors state or local-level regulation.
“I don’t trust this current administration to run a lemonade stand, let alone regulate AI,” he said. “I don’t have the answer on AI, but I am more in favor of this being a state or even county decision.”
Croley’s opponent, Garrett, did not respond to the Banner’s survey, but his campaign site states that “Johnny believes the United States should be the world leader in advancing AI and emerging technologies.”
In the 7th District race, Democrat candidate Copeland told the Banner that “AI is moving faster than Congress can keep up” and that state and local governments were better positioned to make decisions about data centers.
Van Epps’ campaign site expresses his support for “responsible” federal regulations on AI “to ensure that the US continues to lead.”
In the 5th Congressional District, Democrat candidate and Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder has cited his support for data center moratoriums and called for AI regulations on both safety and labor protection grounds.
