Infighting among Tennessee Democrats has become public after State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) criticized fellow Nashville Democrat State Representative Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) on social media following the failure of a bipartisan housing bill she co-sponsored in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Oliver sharply criticized Mitchell after her Homes Not Hedge Funds Act (SB0242/HB0298) failed to advance in a House subcommittee last week.
The bill – sponsored in the Senate by Oliver (pictured above, right) and in the House by State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) – aimed to curb large-scale corporate purchases of single-family homes in Tennessee’s largest counties.
Despite passing the full Senate, the bill was killed on Wednesday in the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee after it received a motion to be heard but no second, preventing it from moving forward.
Mitchell (pictured above, left), the only other Democrat on the panel besides State Representative Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville), declined to back the measure, effectively halting its progress.
Two days later, Oliver took to Facebook and Instagram with a direct, profane message aimed at Mitchell, accusing him of sabotaging the bill and of placing personal grudges above policy.
“F— you, Bo Mitchell,” Oliver wrote. “You a low-down, backstabbing, misogynistic punk…You know what you did and why you did it.”
Oliver alleged Mitchell blocked the legislation out of resentment following his loss in the 2025 Democratic primary in the special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, where Behn defeated Mitchell and other candidates before ultimately losing the general election to Republican Matt Van Epps.
“You’re holding a grudge because you lost the primary to a woman,” Oliver wrote. “Killing my bill was a gutter-trifling move. Killing my bill as a fellow Democrat is unacceptable and unforgivable.”
Oliver also suggested she would confront Mitchell directly over the dispute.
“When I see you, I’m cussing you out on sight,” she wrote. “From asshole to appetite!”
The Homes Not Hedge Funds Act sought to limit the ability of large investors to accumulate large numbers of single-family homes in Tennessee’s most populous counties.
Under the proposal, companies or affiliated entities that owned 100 or more single-family homes used primarily for rental purposes in qualifying counties would have been prohibited from purchasing additional single-family homes unless the properties were used as residences.
The measure included an exception for properties designated as affordable housing, defined as housing costing no more than 30 percent of income for households earning 60 percent or less of the county’s median income.
Oliver said the bill had broad support, noting how it had passed the Senate nearly unanimously.
“I had constituents calling my office crying, thanking me for the Homes Not Hedge Funds Act,” she wrote in the post. “Finally, something transformative… that could actually help people.”
Mitchell has since rejected the claim that his decision to kill the bill was tied to his loss to Behn in last year’s congressional primary.
Oliver’s post escalated further as she accused Mitchell of undermining fellow Democrats for years and pledged political retaliation.
“Dems in the party have let you run unhinged for years. Democrats have let you be a mediocre menace with no consequences,” Oliver wrote. “You are a cancer to the party and to the people of Tennessee. You block progress at every turn and we wonder why Dems keep losing and get called weak. Because YOU. ARE. WEAK.”
“If sabotaging fellow Democrats over petty grudges is the new standard, then let’s stop pretending we’re on the same team,” Oliver added. “You are problematic, Bo Mitchell, and I will work tirelessly to make sure you never ever see another elected seat again.”
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep. Bo Mitchell” by Rep. Bo Mitchell.
