Chaz Molder

Chaz Molder was born and raised in Columbia, Tennessee, according to a Nashville Banner candidate questionnaire, and graduated from Columbia Central High School; in his words, he is a product of Columbia's public schools.[5][1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2005 and a law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2009.[1][2] He works as an attorney.[1][5]

Molder was elected mayor of Columbia in 2018 with 65 percent of the vote; his campaign website says he was then the youngest mayor in Tennessee and in the city's 200-plus-year history.[2][3] He won a second term in 2022 with just under 60 percent of the vote and then announced he would not run for a third term.[3] According to his campaign website, as mayor he has passed eight balanced budgets with no property tax increases and says he saved taxpayers $10.5 million through fiscal management, and he formed the Columbia Mayor's Youth Council.[2]

Molder won the August 6, 2026 Democratic primary for the 5th District with 40.9 percent of the vote.[1][6] His campaign website says he is married to Elizabeth Molder, that they have three children in local public schools, and that the family attends First United Methodist Church in Columbia.[2] During the campaign, he ran on lowering costs, health care access and labor protections.[1][2][3] He received 46.7% of the vote to Charlie Hatcher's 51.7%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4]