For the second time in two weeks, President Donald Trump will apparently return to Tennessee in an apparent effort to motivate MAGA voters to turn out to the polls November 3. Trump was in Knoxville for the UT-Texas game and is reportedly planning to visit Clarksville this Saturday while traveling to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Georgia football game that evening. Details of the Tennessee stopover have not been released. Two Republicans in seemingly tight congressional races, Charlie Hatcher and Matt Van Epps, have districts that include parts of Montgomery County and both are facing well-funded Democrats in Darden Copeland and Chaz Molder.
Trump posed for photos with Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is embroiled in her own tight race for Governor, during his visit to Knoxville. Senator Bill Hagerty also accompanied the President. Hagerty is essentially uncontested in his reelection bid.
Does a second Presidential visit in just two weeks signal GOP concerns over turnout in several middle and west Tennessee congressional races? It appears so, since there are so many other races across the country that will determine whether Republicans retain the House and/or the Senate.
TAYLOR TAKES OFF THE GLOVES AGAINST PEARSON. A new ad by Brent Taylor in his 9th District race against Justin Pearson doesn’t hold back in defining the “Tennessee Three” Pearson as too woke and radical for Tennessee. Taylor uses video of Pearson during the Capitol Hill protests over redistricting earlier this year when Pearson aggressively and verbally confronted state troopers trying to restore order.
Taylor has also emphasized endorsements of Pearson from “woke” Democrat squad members like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib as evidence of Pearson not being reflective of Tennessee values and views. Pearson never, and probably wisely, strays too far from inner city Memphis in pursuing votes. His schtick really won’t play in the rural counties in Tennessee’s southern border no matter how often he changes his accent and syntax.
BOWLING BACKS HATLEY. State Senator Janice Bowling broke GOP ranks this week and endorsed independent David Hatley in the Governor’s race. Some Blackburn backers immediately called for her to be dismissed from the Senate Republican Caucus. While she may not be qualified in the future as “bona fide” under GOP rules for any subsequent election, she is not up for election for another two years. And she would almost certainly win reelection as an independent if she chose to seek another term.
Meanwhile, outspoken conservative Republican Gary Humble, who narrowly lost a bid to unseat Williamson County State Senator and GOP majority leader Jack Johnson four years ago, has also weighed in for Hatley. Others in Republican ranks may be less public but are not particularly shy in private in voicing their support for Hatley. Will other legislators follow Bowling and Humble’s lead in the coming weeks? Stay tuned.
HATCHER PUSHES “VOTE THE FARMER” CAMPAIGN AD
Charlie Hatcher has a new ad that went up this week that promotes his farming background. Not a bad strategy considering the agriculture heavy tilt of the redrawn 5th and the lack of appeal that Dem Chaz Molder has to rural Tennessee voters. The ad is running throughout the district on both broadcast and cable.
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.
