Chaz Molder
Candidate for Tennessee 5th Congressional District · Democrat
On the 2026 ballotCandidate · Tennessee 5th Congressional District · Nov 3 General
Ballot status source: Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections — November 3, 2026 General Election candidate lists: United States House of Representatives District 5 — 'Chaz Molder', Democratic · read Sep 24, 2026
Running for Tennessee 5th Congressional District, Nov 3 General. The race page has 3 other candidates, 5 certified results. See the race
Roles on File
Seats held and sought, elections and committees, newest first.
- RunningTennessee 5th Congressional DistrictNov 3, 2026 · On the 2026 ballot
The District
What Tennessee 5th Congressional District covers
Covers all of Hickman County, Henry County, Weakley County, Humphreys County, Obion County, Dyer County, Lauderdale County, Stewart County, Benton County, Lewis County, Houston County and Lake County; parts of Maury County, Williamson County, Shelby County, Tipton County and Montgomery County.
219 precincts · District lines: Congressional lines: enacted plan "U.S. Congress Districts Adopted May 7, 2026" (114th General Assembly, Second Extraordinary Session (House Bill 1 / 2026 congressional elections); signed by Gov. Lee May 7, 2026); 2026 status: In effect for the Aug 6 primary and Nov 3 general: preliminary injunction denied July 23, 2026, Sherman v. Hargett (M.D. Tenn.); NAACP Tennessee State Conference v. Tennessee and Hale v. Lee pending. Official file https://comptroller.tn.gov/content/dam/cot/pa/documents/district-maps/congress-districts/NewCongressional26.zip
Key Votes
The record
Current office: Mayor, City of Columbia, Tennessee · votes/acts not compiled
Office per official source. Checked 2026-09-24.
Sep 24, 2026 · Official · Official source · source
Newest first. A close vote was decided by 5% of the votes cast or less (or 10 votes or fewer, under a fifth of the votes). Broke with party: voted against most of their party, where the record gives the party split.
Their Money
Campaign finance
- Last Change
- Profile updated · Sep 24
- Raised
- $2,599,775cycle to date through Jul 17
- Cash on Hand
- $1,482,196cycle to date through Jul 17
- Spent
- $1,117,579cycle to date through Jul 17
- Debts Owed
- $32,786cycle to date through Jul 17
- Next Report Due
- Q3 Report · Oct 15
View on FEC.govFEC, cycle to date through Jul 17, 2026
Top Payees
Who the campaign paid most, as its filing reports it.
- Kinetic Strategies Llc$230,151.96
- Impact Research Inc$138,300.00
- Human Capital Management Llc$129,254.35
- Triumph Strategies$124,442.02
- Gps Impact Inc$69,139.10
Campaign finance · Molder For Congress: Pre-Primary 2026, through Jul 17, 2026
Jul 17, 2026 · Official · Federal Election CommissionFinance Reports
Campaign finance · Molder For Congress: Pre-Primary 2026, through Jul 17, 2026
Raised $2,599,774.57 this election cycle (as reported) · spent $1,117,578.66 · cash on hand $1,482,195.91 · debts owed by the committee $32,785.77 — through Jul 17, 2026. Where the money came from (cycle to date, as reported): Individuals $2,361,617.36 (91%); PACs and other political committees $215,700.00 (8%); Party committees $220.78 (0%); Transfers from authorized committees $21,870.00 (1%); Other receipts (refunds, offsets, other) $366.43 (0%). Where it went (itemized operating expenditures this cycle, FEC-processed through Sep 20, 2026): digital $287,999.13; polling $163,419.30; staff payroll $129,254.35; fundraising $124,542.02; media and advertising $73,209.10; general consulting $41,684.79.
Jul 17, 2026 · Official · Federal Election Commission
Money shows as the filings named here report it. Payees are who the campaign paid; individual contributors are not shown.
Advertising
Who is advertising for and against Chaz
Advertising summary · for and against (2026 cycle)
For: own campaign on Google $24,000–$27,500 (ad ranges); outside Google ads $0–$0; Snap $0; broadcast TV not searched; FEC independent expenditures $0. Against: outside Google ads $0–$0; opponent campaign ads $0–$0; Snap $0; broadcast TV not searched; FEC independent expenditures $0. 2026 cycle. Broadcast TV: not yet searched. Meta not included.
Sep 23, 2026 · Official · Ads summary (2026 cycle)Google/YouTube ads · MOLDER FOR CONGRESS (supporting)
The candidate's own campaign (MOLDER FOR CONGRESS). 4 ads since Nov 2024; $24,000–$27,500 (Google creative spend ranges).
Sep 23, 2026 · Official · Google Political Ads Transparency Report (bundle updated 2026-09-23 21:37 PT) · source
Spend as each platform or filing reports it. Each line is a separate measure, and they are not added together.
In Their Words
What they have said, on the record
“That rhetoric is dangerous. It is the reason people have lost trust in the system. But then as you know, I'm Mayor of Columbia. I've served two terms now. I grew up here. My values are Tennessee values. I'm not a socialist, I'm a capitalist. We've passed balanced budgets. We've not had property tax increases”
“In terms of my loyalty, my loyalty is not going to be to any one person. It's going to be to the people of the 5th Congressional district.”
“The opponent may be different, but the issues are the same and the failed policies that have led us into the mess that we have in Washington DC are still there and we want to be part of the solution instead of continuing to be part of the problem”
“Tonight, we took a huge step forward in our campaign to win this seat for the people of the 5th District.”
“When Chaz first ran for Mayor in 2018, he unseated the two term incumbent, and became the youngest Mayor in Tennessee at the time and the youngest Mayor in Columbia's history. He then secured re-election in 2022, against the local chair of the Maury County Republican Party. Both elections were won by wide margins in a county which Donald Trump carried by over 45 points.”
In the News
Press coverage
- Democrat Chaz Molder seeks Tennessee 5th District seat after primary upset reshaped the raceAug 21, 2026 · Press · NewsChannel 5 Inside Politics
- Chaz Molder launches District 5 election campaign in Memphis day after winning Democratic nominationAug 7, 2026 · Press · Action News 5 (WMC)
- Tennessee primary election results for U.S. House District 5Aug 6, 2026 · Press · The Tennessean
Headlines link to the original reporting, captured on the date shown.
Reach Them
Websites and accounts
Campaign website capture
Campaign website https://chazmolder.com/ captured 2026-09-24T20:32:38Z (1280x900 viewport, logged-out).
Sep 24, 2026 · Self-published · Campaign website · sourceCampaign website: https://chazmolder.com/
Source: https://chazmolder.com/
Sep 24, 2026 · Self-published · Campaign website · source
The Paper Trail
Filings, results and exhibits
On the ballot: U.S. House, Tennessee 5th District · November 3, 2026 general election
Listed as "Chaz Molder" (Democratic) on the TN official election authority certified candidate list for the 2026 General Election (as of read 2026-09-24). Checked 2026-09-24.
Sep 24, 2026 · Official · TN official election authority · sourceU.S. Representative · TN-05
Democrat · Candidate · On the 2026 ballot
Sep 19, 2026 · Official
File read Sep 25, 2026. Each item names its source. Record ID p_cr3dkm6cc.
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