Olan Mills II, son of portrait studio mogul Olan Mills Sr., has been a known Democrat donor for years, even co-founding a Democrat PAC, and this year seems to be no exception to Mill’s political machinations. Races across the state received significant contributions, particularly those competing for a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Mills could be aiming to chip away at the Republican supermajority as records show he donated over $55,000 to more than a dozen Democrat state house and senate candidates, with many of these candidates receiving the maximum $1,800 twice. Several of these seats are aiming to flip to Democrat and others, though ultimately Democrat victories, were won by razor-thin margins in the last cycle.
A notable name on the donor list was Kathy Lennon, Conservative Michele Reneau’s opponent in House District 27. Reneau was the target of a recent smear campaign by the Hamilton County Democrat Party, which also received around $13,000 from Mills this year.
