Huge turnout of candidates, voters at Expo Center
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
Thursday’s candidate event at the Knoxville Expo Center on Clinton Highway drew most of the candidates. There were no speeches given as the Knoxville and Knox County Candidate Expo was a basic “meet the candidates” function sponsored by the Expo Center at no cost to the candidates or those attending.
Each candidate was provided a 10-foot space with a table and chairs where they could set up to meet the public and hand out campaign swag, from letter openers to stickers to yard signs. The event started at 4:30 and lasted until 8:30 and hundreds of supporters and potential voters stopped by to visit. Several of the candidates are attorneys and were delayed in attending because they attended an overlapping function.
A few candidates did not appear but, for the most part, most candidates seemed in good moods and their campaign workers seemed excited.
Early voting in the primary election starts on Wednesday, April 13. For some candidates, a victory in the May 3 election will mean they will be elected or re-elected if they have no opponents in that election. The general election is August 4.
