BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Hundreds of people turned out for a downtown rally Thursday, to wish Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey well in his bid for the state’s top office.
“This is my home,” Ramsey said as he addressed the group from the steps of the old Sullivan County Courthouse. “Thank you for coming out and supporting me today.”
Though Ramsey officially launched his gubernatorial campaign at a June 1 rally in Franklin, he called Thursday’s event a “Campaign Kick-off Celebration” because it marked a time when he could really focus his energy on a full-time campaign.
“We’re really getting started today,” said Ramsey, one of four Republicans who are seeking their party’s nomination to run for governor in the 2010 election.
Ramsey will face Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga, and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons in an August 2010 Republican Primary.
The primary winner will face one of five Democratic gubernatorial candidates in the November 2010 election. Tennessee’s current governor, Phil Bredesen, will not seek another term in office next year due to term limits.
Ramsey said his 17 years of representing Blountville in the state House of Representatives and state Senate set him apart from the other candidates.
“If we had a debate today, some of my opponents will need a briefing book” on state politics, Ramsey said. “I could write that briefing book.”
But Ramsey’s greatest advantage in this election is also his greatest disadvantage. State law bars sitting legislators from campaigning while the General Assembly is in session.
That is why Ramsey had to wait until after June 1 to kick off his campaign and start raising money. It also means the campaign must take a similar hiatus from January to May, when the legislature reconvenes for the next session.
Though he called the law “blatantly unfair,” Ramsey said he will follow it and is scheduling his campaign activities so they fit in nicely with the time he has off.
Ramsey said he has planned fundraising events for September and October that he hopes will add to the $1.3 million he’s already raised for his campaign. He also has made one cross-state trip involving smaller campaign events in Jackson, Clarksville and Gatlinburg.
At the rally Thursday, Charlotte Guthrie, a Bristol, Tenn., resident who has family in the Knoxville area, said Ramsey is beginning to gain some ground in that part of the state. She said many of her family members are supporting Ramsey because they like his conservative stance on the issues and the “Christian message” present at his events.
Guthrie said that stance and Ramsey’s reliability to stand up for what he believes in have helped him make his way from being a state representative to the lieutenant governor and should clear the way for his gubernatorial bid.
“He’s come a long way to be from East Tennessee,” Guthrie said Thursday night, after snapping a picture of Ramsey standing beside her daughter and two grandsons.
gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518
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