It’s “Super Tuesday” as voters in 10 states head to the polls today to make their selections for the presidential primary. Tennessee and Georgia both hold elections today.
At stake are 419 delegates for the GOP candidates.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holds the delegate lead with 119, but any candidate hoping to clench the nomination needs 1,143 delegates.
In Tennessee the polls close at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, while in Georgia, the polls close at 7:00 p.m.
Early voting numbers for this year were down sharply from the last presidential primary in 2008, causing the major GOP candidates to ramped up their attention to Tennessee over the last week with campaign stops and a barrage of ads on local television and cable.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has drawn the endorsement of several top Republicans in the state, including Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Meanwhile, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made a series of appearances between Kingsport and Memphis in the days before the vote.
Tennessee has 55 delegates up for the vote, the third most among the 10 Super Tuesday states.
At a Santorum rally near Knoxville last week, Anderson County teacher Parker Stanley said the former senator carries the least political and personal baggage among the candidates.
“They’re trying to say he’s a rightist Christian,” he said. “And I don’t think that will be as damaging as what they can say against Romney, or about Gingrich.”
Voters at a Haslam-led rally for Romney in Memphis last week said they like Romney’s past business experience will help lead the country out of sluggish economic times.
Haslam acknowledged Santorum’s charisma and ability to connect with voters after that rally.
Other states holding Super Tuesday contests are Alaska, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.
Election ballots across rural Southeast Tennessee have a mix of contested local races and questions as voters head to polls, while locally several seats are up for grabs with the biggest of those races being the seat of Marion County Mayor, where voters will pick from two candidates in Democratic primary races.
John Graham, appointed to replace the late County Mayor David Kirk, faces challenger Mack Reeves in the Democratic primary for a spot on the August general election ballot.
Graham was serving his 15th year as road superintendent when he was appointed in December 2010 to fill Kirk’s seat until the next county general election.
Reeves is the County Commission vice chairman and represents District 4.
The winner will face Republican candidate Gary Ellis to serve out the remaining two years of the term.
For Marion County Assessor of Property, the race is between Democrats Judy Brewer (incumbent) and Rick Carter. There are no Republican candidates for the seat.
Marion County voters will also have the opportunity to give a thumbs up or down on a wheel tax that would place a $25 tax on motorcycles and a $50 tax on automobiles.
For Constable (Dist. 1) Democrats Tim Reynolds and incumbent Harvey Allison. And for Constable (Dist. 2) the race is between Democrats Travis Hickman and Jeff Stephens.
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Information from: Associated Press
