Knox Republicans celebrate massive victory in Tuesday’s General Election
By Ken Lay
Knox County’s Republican Party had plenty of reasons to celebrate early last week.
But the biggest victory couldn’t quite be celebrated until long after the festivities ended Tuesday night at the Crowne Plaza in Downtown Knoxville. The Republicans took back the White House as Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in a race that was decided early Wednesday morning.
In the United States House, incumbent Tim Burchett won re-election, defeating Democrat Jane George.
Burchett, in his acceptance speech, expressed gratitude to his supporters and campaign workers.
“I’ve been here before and I’ve run in a lot of elections,” he said. “It’s an honor to serve you.
“I want to say big thank you to everybody in this room from the bottom of my heart. We have a great country and thank you for giving hope to our country.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn (who wasn’t at the Crowne Plaza Tuesday night) won re-election as she defeated a field that included Democrat Gloria Johnson.
In the Tennessee House of Representatives, Jason Zachary (District 14), Michele Carringer (District 16), Elaine Davis (District 18), Dave Wright (who ran unopposed in District 19) and Justin Lafferty (District 89) were all re-elected for another term Tuesday.
Davis, the final speaker of the evening, said she was honored to be in Knox County’s delegation in the state house.
“We were Tennessee strong and I’m so proud to be a part of the Knox County delegation,” Davis said. “I’m honored to be able to serve the people of District 18 and the people in all of Knox County.
“We knew the 18th (District) wanted to stay conservative.”
Zachary implored voters to show up and cast their ballots throughout his most recent campaign and noted that he wanted to show that the county remained a conservative stronghold.
“We begged the people of Knox County to show up and vote and show that this was a conservative stronghold,” said Zachary, who also expressed his gratitude to Knox County Republican Party Chairman Buddy Burkhardt for his effort to mobilize the voters in the party.
“Thank you, Buddy, for getting out the vote,” Zachary said.
Lafferty made it no secret that he was in a jovial mood during this acceptance speech at the watch party. But he also sounded the alarm as he told voters that the job remains undone.
“It’s been a fantastic ride. Enjoy this one tonight,” he said. “But it doesn’t end here. The fight doesn’t end tonight. It’s just getting started.
Carringer vowed to continue her work in the state House.
“I want to thank my Lord and Savior since He’s blessed me with the opportunity to serve in District 16,” she said. “I am honored and humbled to be here and to represent the people of District 16 and the people in all of Knoxville.
“I will work hard to keep our taxes low.”
State Senator Becky Duncan Massey won another term to represent District 6. She said that being a leader in Tennessee is a team effort between her and those in the Knox County delegation of the state House of Representatives.
“It’s a great night to be a Tennessean,” Massey said. “We have the best delegation in Knox County. “People are so jealous of the Knox County delegation because we all work so well together.
“We’ve got Dave Wright, Michele, Elaine, Jason and Justin Lafferty and we all work so well together.”
