Out in Utah, the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor produced a joint commercial that says we can run against someone without hating them. Watch it here.
But in Knoxville, Republican Elaine Davis is letting the state party mail junk into her district. The first mailer into Knox District 13 called incumbent Rep. Gloria Johnson pro-criminal (her dad was an FBI agent). The second one called her a witch. Yes, there is Gloria (a special ed teacher for 27 years) on a broom, while Davis is shown handing out Halloween candy to kids.
These mailers are a dumb idea. District 13 runs from Sequoyah Hills to Inskip, from Fourth & Gill to deep South Knox County. Johnson is a known quantity, having run three times before. Davis, who hails from the district’s western edge, is lesser known. In fact, these mailers could be a voter’s first impression.
In District 16, Elizabeth Rowland (D) and Michele Carringer (R) are running a civil campaign with Carringer being nicer to Rowland than she was to her primary opponent, Patti Bounds.
Who won Thursday night’s debate?
President Trump won on these points:
- Biden has been in Washington for 47 years without much to show for it
- Economic recovery is more likely with Trump’s tax cuts and reduced regulations than with Biden’s tax increases and war on fossil fuels
- Biden can’t govern as a centrist, despite campaigning as one, because the progressive wing of his party will pull him leftward.
Biden won on:
- COVID-19. Trump not only failed to lead but he has made things worst. And he lacks empathy with the families of the 223,000 who have died and the doctors and nurses who put their own lives at risk to treat us.
- Kids in cages – the signature stain of the Trump era.
- Unity – Biden is a uniter, while Trump is a divider; Biden fights fires, while Trump throws matches.
Notes:
Vickie Butcher Wells says she’s skipping Halloween this year: “I’ve been wearing a mask and eating candy for seven months. I don’t think I need a day dedicated to it anymore.”
Martha McSally is on track to lose twice in two years for election to the U.S. Senate. McSally (R) lost to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D) in 2018, then was appointed to the other Arizona seat when John McCain died. Now McSally is defending her seat from former astronaut Mark Kelly who has consistently led polling. Democrats went 30 years without a senator from Arizona (1988-2018) and come Nov. 3 could have two.
Dan Kelly, who writes Media Nation, reports that Gannett has sold its weekly paper in Nantucket as well as its paper in Pine Bluff, Arkansas – both to local buyers. “So, if you’d like to acquire the Gannett paper in your community, it sounds like it might be a good time to make an offer,” he wrote.
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today, Inc.