Marcus Ellsworth

@thinglythings.substack.com

An occasional poet

People have asked, so here is a list of organizations moving the needle in Tennessee in a positive direction for human rights and voter engagement. This is incomplete, and there are many local orgs focused on specific counties and regions of the state too.

Many of my readers have been concerned about the anti-trans ballot measures passing. But there are already plans underway to ensure that they never go into effect. Court challenges are incoming, and the state courts are very good. I cover all measures here. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Anti-Trans Ballot Measures Are Barely Passing, And They May Not Survive What Comes Next

There are already plans to defang or defeat anti-trans ballot measures in blue states.

erininthemorning.com

what i can't get over, looking at louisiana and mississippi and even alabama, is that the votes are *there*. it is absolutely possible with long term investment to make them competitive states

I'm old enough to remember people who do nothing, don't live in the South, but like to pretend to be experts on regional politics saying that Georgia would never flip blue. I also remember speaking with actual grassroots organizers saying it was absolutely gonna shift if people kept doing the work.

The results are in: Election Night 2026 was a stunning rebuke of anti-trans politics. From the western congressional district of Montana to a blue Texas, Republicans spent $200 million in anti-trans ads. They suffered one of the worst defeats in history. Subscribe to support our journalism.

A Stunning Rebuke Of Anti-Trans Politics: Republicans Spent $200 Million Attacking Trans People And Lost Everything

How anti-trans ads brought Republican to their ruin in 2026.

erininthemorning.com

Yesterday, in a hostile 60 Minutes interview with a Bari Weiss acolyte who once called trans kids a “social contagion,” El-Sayed refused to budge on trans rights. “A failure to show up and fight for that right is a failure to show up and fight for your own.” Subscribe to support our journalism.

El-Sayed Refused To Hedge On Trans People Again In Hostile 60-Minutes Interview

Understand that a failure to show up and fight for that right is a failure to show up and fight for your own

erininthemorning.com