Knox County Republicans rally to ‘get out and vote’
By Ken Lay
A huge crowd turned out for the Knox County Republican Party’s Bluegrass and BBQ Rally Thursday night at the Knox County Expo Center.
The event was intended to be fun as attendees were treated to a barbecue dinner and were entertained by the musical tones of the Stoney Point Bluegrass Band.
“I want everybody here to have fun,” Knox County Republican Party Chairman Buddy Burkhardt said. “I’m glad you’re here. I love you and thank you for supporting our party.
“I’m glad you’re here because we need your support for Republican candidates in all of our contested races.”
Burkhardt also noted the importance of welcoming new voters and youngsters to the party and he implored longtime party members to welcome the younger voters.
“We have more than 600 people here and I know almost everybody in this room, and the people I don’t know came up to me and introduced themselves,” he said. “I see young Republicans here and I see college Republicans here and I see high school Republicans here.
“Make sure you make them feel welcomed because we need these people to vote and vote Republican.
“You always welcome people and tell them ‘We’re glad you’re here to share in our message.’”
The event was meant to be a joyous occasion, but the speakers addressed the seriousness of the upcoming Nov. 5 election.
“We, in East Tennessee and Knox County, have to insulate ourselves from the madness going on in Washington, D.C., and the way we do that is by voting for strong Republican leadership in Knox County,” said Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who spoke while most of the crowd was still filing in.
“We don’t have much time left to eat barbecue together,” Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said. “We have two weeks left (before early voting). “It’s never been more adverse between the Rs and the Ds.”
All the speakers spoke of the urgency of voting in the election. Some who attended are too young to vote this time, but it was state Rep. Becky Massey that encouraged older voters to get the youngsters involved in the electoral process.
“Encourage your friends to vote,” she said. “When you vote, take your kids and take your grandkids so that they can see how it works.
“Your encouragement can make huge differences.”
State Rep. Jason Zachary lamented the voter turnout in the primary election.
“During the primaries, only 17-18 percent showed up to vote, and that’s terrible,” he said. “The primary is when elections are won.”
Zachary continued, “After the primary Gloria Johnson (who is opposing incumbent Marsha Blackburn in the US Senate) tweeted that it was not a matter of if, but it was a matter of when Knox County would become blue. We’ve got to get people out to vote.”
