Where Dan Stands
The Issues That Matter
Most to District 3
Dan Pohlgeers believes the people of Carter, Johnson, and Washington Counties deserve a senator who is honest about the problems, specific about the solutions, and accountable for the results. Here is where Dan stands.
Healthcare
Dan Pohlgeers brings 36 years of hands-on healthcare experience as a licensed occupational therapist, certified hand therapist, and founder of Sunesis Medical. He has been one of the most outspoken voices in Upper East Tennessee calling for transparency and real competition in healthcare, serving on the COPA Local Advisory Council, testifying before the Federal Trade Commission, and raising concerns about Ballad Health's monopoly over 1.1 million residents across 29 counties.
Dan believes the oversight structure created around the Ballad merger is failing patients, and he has named what others won't: the incumbent senator chairs the Senate Health Committee while listing Ballad Health as a source of income. That is a conflict of interest, not representation.
Dan will go to Nashville with no financial ties to Ballad and a clear mandate to strengthen COPA oversight, eliminate the Certificate of Need law, and restore real competition so that quality goes up and costs come down for East Tennessee families.
Dan's Commitments
— Strengthen COPA oversight of the Ballad Health merger
— Eliminate the Certificate of Need law
—Increase healthcare transparency and pricing accountability
—Restore real competition — quality up, costs down
— Zero financial ties to Ballad Health
School Vouchers
& Education
Dan Pohlgeers supports school choice as a genuine opportunity for students trapped in failing schools, but he refuses to defend a program that isn't delivering on that promise. Tennessee's ESA voucher program has seen nearly 65% of recipients come from families already enrolled in private school, administrative costs that ballooned to millions of dollars in a single year, and standardized test scores for participating students that lag 17 to 18 points behind their public school peers.
In the Senate, Dan will demand full transparency on where voucher dollars actually go, refocus the program on students currently in low-performing public schools, establish real academic accountability standards for participating private schools, and fix the enrollment barriers that prevent low-income families from accessing it. School choice is a worthy goal; it just needs to be a program that actually works.
Dan's Commitments
— Support school choice as a real opportunity for students in failing schools
— Full transparency on where voucher dollars go
— Refocus ESA on students in low-performing public schools
— Academic accountability for participating private schools
— Fix enrollment barriers blocking low-income families
Sanctity of Life
Dan Pohlgeers has been a pro-life advocate in Upper East Tennessee long before he decided to run for office. In 2014, he and his wife served as area coordinators for the successful Amendment 1 campaign, covering six counties in Upper East Tennessee, which restored the Tennessee General Assembly's authority to legislate on abortion and laid the constitutional foundation for the state's current protections.
But Dan believes the work is far from finished. Abortion pills are now being ordered online through out-of-state telehealth providers and shipped to Tennessee women who take them at home without medical supervision. Dan will fight for legal accountability for out-of-state providers circumventing Tennessee law, ensure women receive honest and complete medical care, and continue supporting pro-life pregnancy resource centers across Northeast Tennessee.
Dan's Commitments
— Legal accountability for out-of-state providers circumventing TN law
— Ensure women receive honest, complete medical care
— Support pro-life pregnancy resource centers across NE Tennessee
— Defend Tennessee's constitutional pro-life protections
— Proven record: YES on 1 Co-chair (2014); President, Tennesseans For Life (2019-2023)
Immigration
Dan Pohlgeers stands firmly with Governor Lee, Speaker Sexton, and President Trump on immigration enforcement, without hesitation. Tennessee has already taken significant action, passing sweeping legislation in 2025 that created the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, expanded 287(g) partnerships with ICE to more than 48 agencies statewide, and made sanctuary city policies a felony.
In East Tennessee, the stakes are personal. Illegal labor undercuts workers in construction and processing industries, fentanyl flowing through an unsecured border is a body count in communities like Johnson City, Elizabethton and Mountain City, and school resources need to serve students who are legally here. Dan will champion every dollar of border security funding and expand 287(g) access for East Tennessee sheriffs.
Dan's Commitments
—Stand with Governor Lee, Speaker Sexton, and President Trump on enforcement
— Champion every dollar of border security funding
—Expand 287(g) access for East Tennessee sheriffs
— Support E-Verify for government hiring and public benefits
— Fight fentanyl trafficking destroying East Tennessee communities
Agriculture
Agriculture in District 3 isn't just an industry; it's a way of life, and it's under real threat. Tennessee is losing farmland at nearly 10 acres every hour, ranking third in the nation for the rate of agricultural land conversion. Dan Pohlgeers is committed to making agriculture a true priority in Nashville, where it has been treated as an afterthought for far too long.
His platform includes robust farmland preservation funding, fair market-value compensation when government orders require livestock destruction, strong protections for water rights and clean water access, and defense of the state veterinarian's authority to respond swiftly to foreign animal disease threats without political interference. The land shaped District 3. It's time the senator representing it fought to protect it.
Dan's Commitments
—Robust farmland preservation funding — stop losing 10 acres per hour
— Fair market-value compensation for government-ordered livestock destruction
— Strong protections for water rights and clean water access
— Defend state veterinarian's authority against animal disease threats
— Protect property tax safeguards for farm families
— Expand investment in rural agricultural programs
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