Listen Now:

GOP state House candidate Ryan Williams looks for votes in Cookeville

Republicans in Tennessee could be celebrating a political trifecta at the ballot box on Tuesday. For the first time since the Civil War, the GOP is poised to capture the Governor’s office, the state Senate and the state House.

Republicans are so confident they’re going after what were, up until a few months ago, safely Democratic seats, including one in Putnam County.

“When you get somebody, just make a wave and I’ll come over to every door. I’ll try not to be so long winded all the time.”

Thirty-five year old Ryan Williams stands with his hands on his hips. At six-foot five, he towers over volunteers as he tells them to knock on 500 doors in four hours.

“The goal is to try to put a name with a face. I’m running against an incumbent who grew up here. People know him. His father, evidently, taught half of Cookeville, you know, so uh, a lot people may not know my name or face even though I’ve been a city councilman for four years.”

Williams gave up his seat on Cookeville’s city council to run against two-term House Democrat Henry Fincher, whose father was that long-time teacher.

Political Climate Provides GOP Opportunity

The house seat has been safely democratic for the last 20 years. But Dr. Lori Maxwell, a political science professor at Tennessee Tech, says Republicans see an opportunity for candidates like Ryan Williams.

“If there were ever a time he could win, it would be now because of the anti-Obama sentiment during this Congressional midterm. The Republican base is more motivated because of their frustration, and I find Democrats, locally, seem to just be passive and a little bit apathetic.”

Republicans have put some muscle behind Williams’ campaign. Tennessee Senator Bob Corker headlined a fundraiser. Republican candidate for governor Bill Haslam helped him knock on doors.

Pressed for time today, Williams sprints across meticulously manicured green lawns in an upscale subdivision.

Williams: “Hey, I’m gonna step ‘cross your bushes. Ryan Williams.”
Voter: “Ryan Mattson.”
Williams: “Nice to meet you, Ryan. Hey! A name I can’t forget.”

This voter knows Williams from the Y, where he coached little league soccer. Williams seizes the unexpected connection to work in his message.

Williams: “Since you got kids, like me…different day we live in.”
Mattson: “It is.”
Williams: “It is, it really is. We need people who are gonna steward government correctly, as if it were our own family.”

Williams gets a promised vote and moves on to the next house. He knocks on his last door around three o’clock.

Democrats Play Down Party Affiliation

Fincher reminds voters he shares their values

Fourteen miles away, Democratic incumbent Henry Fincher gears up for his fourth campaign event of the day in the small town of Boma.

“The rural part of this district is the part that matters. This is a rural place, even in Cookeville proper, which is getting more and more urban, but Cookeville’s, still, not even 40 percent of the district.”

A two-lane country road leads Fincher to a bean supper at the Boma Community Center. Inside, the crowd is sparse, but Fincher assures them it’s still early.

“They’ll be more comin’. They’ve been talkin’ ‘bout it all over town. It’ll pick up around five-ish. When they…belly starts tellin’ ‘em they’re gettin’ hungry, bowl of beans sounds mighty good and they’ll get right back out here.”

Fincher knows Putnam County well. The Cookeville native has practiced law for here for 13 years. And his family helped settle what is now Burgess Falls State Park, in the southwest part of the county. Old family ties here could give the two-term incumbent an advantage. As he works the room at the bean supper, Fincher wants voters to remember his reputation, not his party.

Voter: “I hate to say this, is that Democrat or Republican?
Fincher: “Pro-gun, pro-life, anti-illegal immigration. Yes ma’am.”
Voter: “Just checkin’ up on you.”
Fincher: “No problem here, Church of Christ, yeah.”
Voter: “Alright! That’s our man.”

Fincher says he has to downplay his democratic status to win.

“I’m not advertising or trumpeting the fact that I’m a Democrat. It’s a bad year to be a Democrat. The brand has been damaged by the left wing of the party. They have really screwed up things for guys like me.”

Fincher doesn’t fully buy into the notion that national politics will affect down-ballot races like his. He does admit that he’s “sailing with the wind in his face,” but as he puts it, “a good sailor can sail through it.”

More: