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natasha.chen@wreg.com
Twitter - natashanews3; Facebook.com/NatashaChenReports
(Memphis 10/30/10) Candidates roamed Memphis during the final weekend of October, looking for votes in the last days before Nov. 2.
Republican Charlotte Bergmann's campaign knocked on doors, covering about 800 houses on Saturday alone.
Bergmann told News Channel 3 she would mainly be targeting midtown neighborhoods.
"The responses have been mixed, but overall the responses have been very, very positive. People are ready to get out to vote and to make their voices heard," she said.
Bergmann said that she's introducing herself to people and asking for support from those who haven't yet voted.
She noted that her main concerns are with the economy. Bergmann's team walked by many houses that had been foreclosed.
"That's real pain that people are experiencing. And that's pain that my opponent apparently doesn't understand. Otherwise he would not have been voting for the bills he has been voting for," Bergmann said.
She said that her opponent, Democrat Steve Cohen, had voted for tax hikes that hurt local businesses.
She also lamented the lack of jobs, saying, "In this community, unemployment is over 16 percent."
In September, the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in the city of Memphis and 9.8 percent in Shelby County.
Steve Cohen, who greeted voters at a Democratic event several blocks away in Midtown, said that he had in fact been a part of historic bills to give people tax breaks, not tax hikes.
"We voted on the largest tax breaks in United States history in the 111th Congress. In fact, the stimulus bill was 40 percent tax breaks. There have been more tax breaks for 95 percent of the citizens of the middle class," Cohen said.
Cohen is not knocking on doors this weekend, but is still passing out his signature buttons that he said he likes to collect.
He said that it is in fact a difficult year for some of his Democratic colleagues, but that he is not nervous himself. He remains unfazed by some demands to remove people who seem to be Washington insiders.
"We know how Washington works; we're effective at making it work. That's been my life. Some people say we don't need anymore career politicians, but Thomas Jefferson was a career politician and so was George Washington," Cohen said.
Democrat Mike McWherter was also at the same event with Cohen, while his opponent, Republican Bill Haslam, campaigned in East Tennessee.
McWherter said that during these final campaign days, when he shakes people's hands, he often hears them ask about his plan for job growth, as well as Haslam's comment on gun laws.
Haslam recently told the Tennessee Firearms Association that if the legislature passed a bill to allow carrying concealed handguns without a permit, he would sign it.
McWherter said that he knows he was down in the polls but is still confident in his campaign.
"I feel really good about it. I know that I entered the month behind. There's no question about it. But since our media campaign has come up, and Bill Haslam has sort of become a fringe element on the gun issue, maybe that's the polite way to say it. I really think it has helped make up a lot of voters' minds," McWherter said.
He added that his biggest challenge before Tuesday was to emphasize to voters how he would be a continuation of Gov. Bredesen's administration.
"I represent a lot of continuity with Gov. Bredesen, a whole lot of continuity. My opponent represents change from Gov. Bredesen. And I don't think that's necessarily good," he said.
- Candidates are out either going door to door, or attending large crowd gatherings.
- 9th District Congressional candidates spar on tax breaks vs. tax hikes.
- Gubernatorial candidates target different parts of the state.
natasha.chen@wreg.com
Twitter - natashanews3; Facebook.com/NatashaChenReports
(Memphis 10/30/10) Candidates roamed Memphis during the final weekend of October, looking for votes in the last days before Nov. 2.
Republican Charlotte Bergmann's campaign knocked on doors, covering about 800 houses on Saturday alone.
Bergmann told News Channel 3 she would mainly be targeting midtown neighborhoods.
"The responses have been mixed, but overall the responses have been very, very positive. People are ready to get out to vote and to make their voices heard," she said.
Bergmann said that she's introducing herself to people and asking for support from those who haven't yet voted.
She noted that her main concerns are with the economy. Bergmann's team walked by many houses that had been foreclosed.
"That's real pain that people are experiencing. And that's pain that my opponent apparently doesn't understand. Otherwise he would not have been voting for the bills he has been voting for," Bergmann said.
She said that her opponent, Democrat Steve Cohen, had voted for tax hikes that hurt local businesses.
She also lamented the lack of jobs, saying, "In this community, unemployment is over 16 percent."
In September, the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in the city of Memphis and 9.8 percent in Shelby County.
Steve Cohen, who greeted voters at a Democratic event several blocks away in Midtown, said that he had in fact been a part of historic bills to give people tax breaks, not tax hikes.
"We voted on the largest tax breaks in United States history in the 111th Congress. In fact, the stimulus bill was 40 percent tax breaks. There have been more tax breaks for 95 percent of the citizens of the middle class," Cohen said.
Cohen is not knocking on doors this weekend, but is still passing out his signature buttons that he said he likes to collect.
He said that it is in fact a difficult year for some of his Democratic colleagues, but that he is not nervous himself. He remains unfazed by some demands to remove people who seem to be Washington insiders.
"We know how Washington works; we're effective at making it work. That's been my life. Some people say we don't need anymore career politicians, but Thomas Jefferson was a career politician and so was George Washington," Cohen said.
Democrat Mike McWherter was also at the same event with Cohen, while his opponent, Republican Bill Haslam, campaigned in East Tennessee.
McWherter said that during these final campaign days, when he shakes people's hands, he often hears them ask about his plan for job growth, as well as Haslam's comment on gun laws.
Haslam recently told the Tennessee Firearms Association that if the legislature passed a bill to allow carrying concealed handguns without a permit, he would sign it.
McWherter said that he knows he was down in the polls but is still confident in his campaign.
"I feel really good about it. I know that I entered the month behind. There's no question about it. But since our media campaign has come up, and Bill Haslam has sort of become a fringe element on the gun issue, maybe that's the polite way to say it. I really think it has helped make up a lot of voters' minds," McWherter said.
He added that his biggest challenge before Tuesday was to emphasize to voters how he would be a continuation of Gov. Bredesen's administration.
"I represent a lot of continuity with Gov. Bredesen, a whole lot of continuity. My opponent represents change from Gov. Bredesen. And I don't think that's necessarily good," he said.
