Ramsey, Haslam make final swing through Tri-Cities

Ron Ramsey has put almost 240,000 miles on the white Chevy Tahoe he’s driven around the state as part of his gubernatorial campaign.

But when the lieutenant governor made his last campaign stop before the polls opened for today’s contest, it was less than a mile from where he grew up and before a standing room only crowd at the old Sullivan County Courthouse.

“We are going to need a big turnout in the Republican primary,” Ramsey said Wednesday as he urged people who have not yet voted to cast their ballots today.

Ramsey is one of three men – including Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3 – who are seeking the GOP’s nomination for governor. The winner will face Democrat Mike McWherter in the November general election.

Already this election has set a record – the 543,296 people who cast ballots during early voting is the most the state’s Division of Elections has ever seen in a state primary election – and it’s anybody’s guess as to who will be voting today.

With that in mind, all three candidates spent Wednesday crisscrossing the state to encourage the turnout they needed – even if it meant stumping in their opponent’s home territory.

“Absolutely we’re in Ron’s backyard,” Haslam said Wednesday afternoon as he met with a few voters during a quick stop at the Tri-City Aviation terminal in Blountville. “But the support we’ve gained in Northeast Tennessee is quite significant.”

Haslam said he built that support by making 70 to 80 trips to the region since he started his campaign. He focused the trips on learning what the people in the area are concerned about and he learned the answer is jobs and the economy.

He also focused on learning about the institutions and programs in the Tri-Cities that are capable of creating news jobs, and he said he is confident he can use his business experience to ensure that they reach that goal when he is elected governor.

The mayor of Knoxville also is confident about his chances in today’s election, especially after a poll conducted two weeks ago said he was the clear frontrunner.

“I’m very optimistic about what the results are going to be,” Haslam said right before promising to return to the region Monday as part of his victory tour.

That poll, conducted by Mason Dixon Polling and Research for the Tennessee Newspaper Network and released July 25, showed Haslam had support from 36 percent of likely voters in today’s election.

It showed that Wamp, who spent Wednesday campaigning in Nashville and Memphis, had support from 25 percent of likely voters. The poll showed that Ramsey received support from 20 percent of likely voters.

The lieutenant governor, as he met with supporters at the rally at the old Sullivan County Courthouse, said he wasn’t going to let that poll statistic get him down.

“I’ve had an uphill battle since day one,” Ramsey said, adding that his campaign’s own internal polling showed he’d be down that far that close to the election.

Ramsey’s biggest claim is that the Mason Dixon Poll fails to reflect the huge amount of momentum he built up during the final stages of the campaign – coming from people who are pro-life, support the Second Amendment and identify themselves as being either a tea party activist or with a tea party group.

It’s this last group of supporters who have really gone the extra mile in supporting Ramsey’s campaign, the lieutenant governor told the crowd gathered in Blountville.

They’ve single-handedly set out to knock on thousands of doors in their home territories, Ramsey said. One tea party group even raised $40,000 so it could send a campaign flier to every registered voter in its home county.

“It’s humbling for me to have the support that I’ve received from across the state,” Ramsey said as he finished his speech. “We can win this thing, we really can.”

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