I live in a very red Republican state.

President Trump carried 65% of Tennessee in 2024, and the State legislature boasts just 6 democratic senators and 24 democratic representatives. The Republicans in Tennessee have a resounding majority. The last time a democratic President carried Tennessee was Bill Clinton in 1996.

So it is not only a challenge but also a bit anxiety inducing to try to find people that align with you on a political basis. I actually consider myself now a left-leaning moderate. Tennessee and Donald Trump politics are to thank for converting me from independent/right-leaning moderate to left.

I have found a few like minded groups and people through this website and my social media. So today I want to provide some tips and tricks to not only learn who is aligned with you in your friend circle, how to manage and keep friendships when they are not in alignment and also how to get connected to some groups for solidarity.

Tip #1 – ASK

It fills me with anxiety when I come to the point where I want to ask someone something about themselves. Usually I am picking up on something that leads me to this place of wanting to ask, curiosity and mystery. Last week I learned that a new friend had “they/them/their” as their pronouns. I was unsure about if it was appropriate to ask, and found that it was actually appreciated.

From a socio-political standpoint, asking a friend what they stand for is also perfectly OK. I found solidarity in knowing a friend of mine has similar thoughts and views as I do, so we can vent and problem solve together and it gives us one more topic to discuss beyond what we already had.

Tip #1A – Don’t Abandon Friends Who Don’t Agree

This probably should go without saying, but it’s great to have friends who do NOT align with your political views. I find that if you have a baseline friendship established, it is possible and likely to have intelligent conversation about politics. In our divided political climate, it is highly unlikely you’ll change anyone’s mind about anything. But at least a mutual understanding of the reasons for differences is possible.

Tip #2 – Finding a Group Offline

So we don’t all have time to mindlessly search the internet. Although if you’re here, that probably doesn’t apply to you. The best starting point is to find your local Chamber of Commerce, and ask for information about local political groups, government information and voter guides. As an example this is my local Williamson County Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.

The Democratic and Republican parties generally have a presence in every county and/or district, and at minimum regionally. You can find your local Democratic party by checking out the Democratic State Parties information.

Tip #3 – Finding a Group on Social Media

This one becomes both complex and easy, at the same time. The first step here is to find known pages/groups you want to follow or join. For example, the Democrats of Williamson County Tennessee has its own social media.

Find politicians you want to follow, other local, state and national groups. Follow the party social media directly.

This is all the easy stuff. You’re providing an algorithm to social media.

Next, you have to watch your feed. It will throw a bunch of stuff at you and you’ll need to choose what interests you and ignore what doesn’t. This is how I found the 50501 Movement – Facebook correctly guessed that I would be interested in protests, and recommended that page and group to me.

Summary

I hope the above tips gave you some confidence to go find solidarity. And of course, if you’d like to follow and comment on my articles or facebook page I am always here for a conversation!

Look forward to seeing you online or at an upcoming rally.