Haslam Takes Candidacy Door to Door

Memphis, Tn - As his opponents in the Tennessee Gubernatorial race are finding out, it's literally hard to keep up with the pace set by Republican Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam.

The affable candidate, with a handful of aides and Shelby County Republican Party supporters in tow, blitzed his way through a ninety minute early morning, house to house, personal meet and greet in a Germantown neighborhood on Saturday.

Haslam, in a brief stop said, "I was here two weeks ago. I'm here today. I'm here again in ten days. So, we're spending a lot of time in Shelby County."

Haslam's latest trip to West Tennessee comes in the wake of the results of a poll conducted by Middle Tennessee State University this week. Its findings indicated 73 percent, nearly three out of four Tennessee adults, can't name a single gubernatorial candidate out of a field of six. Of the nineteen percent who were able to, Haslam, who has advertised heavily on television since the middle of February, had the most name recognition. As his trip through Germantown demonstrated, as if on cue, it appears to be money well-spent.

In an exchange with one resident Haslam said, "I'm Bill Haslam. I'm the Mayor over in Knoxville running for Governor!"

The elderly homeowner gushed, "I think I've seen your picture on TV!"

Haslam defended the bankroll he's spent on TV ads by explaining, "We came up with a plan over a year ago as to how we laid out the campaign and part of it was to introduce ourselves early across the state. This is an interesting race in that there are six people. Four Republicans. Two Democrats. None of whom have ever run statewide. And so you do have a lot of people that need to be introduced to all the candidates."

As for any perceived threat of voter apathy with the primaries five months away, Haslam declared he's seeing the interest level picking up, at least certainly more than when he started.

Haslam noted, "I've been doing this for fourteen months. So, we've been so into it for awhile. But, I think your average voters are just now starting to pay attention to the race."

Meanwhile, Haslam charges on trying to put distance between himself and rest of the gubernatorial field....with only a few built in rest breaks.

Haslam concluded, "We like Sundays. That whole Sabbath idea makes a lot of sense taking days off. So, we're always glad when Sunday comes."