Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

Former Republican candidate urges protest vote for Jordan




Steve Lane

Steve Lane

A former Republican congressional and state Senate candidate is urging libertarian and GOP voters to cast a “protest vote” for Democrat Gayle Jordan rather than Republican Shane Reeves in Tuesday’s special election for the vacant 14th District Senate post.

“I’ve heard some say they cannot vote for a “Godless liberal” like Jordan,” Murfreesboro resident Steve Lane says on a Facebook post. “That’s fine but consider this: There are currently only 5 Democrat Senators out of 33 total. If she wins, there is literally nothing she will be able to do in the Senate. I doubt she could even get a bill out of subcommittee.”

In his post, Lane says “protest votes” should be made for several reasons: First, primaries should be closed and paid for by parties, because opening them leads to the election of “RINO candidates like Shane Reeves, aka Jim Tracy 2.0.” Reeves is trying to fill the seat vacated by Tracy who took a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and defeated Lane in a state Senate race two years ago.

Lane also says Reeves is “no more Republican” than his opponent and accepted a campaign donation from a chief lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, in addition to being endorsed by the “liberal” Tennessee Education Association and National Education Association, which endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

In addition, Lane points out Reeves accepted a $1 million state grant to start his new business TwelveStone Health Partners after selling Reeves-Sain Drugstore to Fred’s.

Furthermore, Reeves promised to run a “clean campaign” in the Republican primary but ran attack ads against his opponent, former state Rep. Joe Carr, “all of which either were outright lies or at the very least were gross deceptions.”

Lane’s post points out Reeves has spent more than $600,000, including about $95,000 of his own money, for a seat that pays about $20,000 a year.

“This run for state Senate appears to be a setup for a future run for congress. It also demonstrates a lust for power that should not be rewarded,” his post states.

In response to Lane, Reeves’ campaign issued a statement saying, “When you get conservative stalwarts like Marsha Blackburn and Scott DesJarlais stumping for you, little stunts like that aren’t taken seriously. Our base is united and fired up to defeat the left-wing policies our opponent promotes.”

Congressman DesJarlais, a Republican from South Pittsburg, and U.S. Rep. Blackburn, a U.S. Senate candidate from Franklin, campaigned Saturday for Reeves in a rally at the Alley on Main in Murfreesboro.

Said DesJarlais, who is seeking re-election in Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District, “having known Shane for over six years, I’m confident he will immediately contribute to the legislative process, bringing an expansive knowledge of business and health care to the table.”

Reeves hasn’t always been a DesJarlais supporter, though. He backed former state Sen. Tracy in a congressional run against DesJarlais, playing host to Tracy’s campaign kickoff at Reeves-Sain Drugstore. At the event, Tracy said he was the “moral” candidate in the wake of revelations from divorce transcripts DesJarlais and his former wife decided she should have two abortions and that he pressed a former mistress to seek an abortion.

Blackburn said of Reeves, “I know Shane Reeves will fight to foster an agenda that will create jobs and promote prosperity for state Senate District 14. We need a conservative businessman in Nashville who will stand with President Trump here in Tennessee.”

Reeves’ TV advertisements say he will promote Trump’s agenda in Tennessee.

Sam Stockard can be reached at sstockard44@gmail.com.

Leave a Reply