NASHVILLE - When Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam leaves Memphis late Friday after three days of campaigning in and around Shelby County, he'll head east in a new campaign bus on a whistle-stop, cross-state tour that runs through the end of early voting July 31.
The bus tour kicks off in Memphis and will work its way across Tennessee over the following two weeks to encourage early voting. Early voting in the Aug. 5 primary starts Saturday.
The bus tour ad early voting end five days before the primary, in which Haslam, the Knoxville mayor, is competing with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey of Blountville and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Wamp has traveled the state in a colorful converted recreational vehicle emblazoned with a giant photo of the congressman and his campaign logo. But the 45-foot long bus, with room for about 24 people, is a first for the Haslam camp, which heretofore has traveled small in a GMC sport-utility vehicle.
The Haslam campaign is still mapping out the tour, spokesman David Smith said today, but the plan is for the bus to stop frequently for the candidate to meet and greet voters. At some stops, Haslam supporters will stage rallies. Others will likely include stopping on courthouse squares and shaking hands with residents.
"It will be a whistle-stop tour and will be visiting all three grand divisions multiple times," Smith said. The Saturday stops are tentatively scheduled in Trenton, Humboldt, Jackson, Murfreesboro and Clarksville.
Wamp and Haslam are both campaigning in Memphis today, mining for Tennessee's largest single bloc of GOP primary voters. Wamp heads east to the Knoxville and Chattanooga areas for the rest of the week. Ramsey has no visits to the Memphis area listed on his campaign website.
Haslam's campaign scheduled in Greater Memphis for Thursday and Friday:
Thursday:
7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Speak Woodburn Farms, 15480 Highway 64, Somerville
8:45 - 9:30 a.m. Speak S&P Café, 7029 Highway 64, Oakland, followed by a tour of Oakland city hall and fire department through 10:30.
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Speak to Fayette County Homebuilders Association meeting at Somerville Bank & Trust, 16790 Highway 64, Somerville
2:15 - 2:45 p.m. Participate in an economic development roundtable with McNairy County Mayor Jai Templeton and others at McNairy County Courthouse, 170 West Court Ave, Selmer
Friday:
8 - 9 a.m. Haslam will host a campaign rally at his Memphis campaign headquarters, 845 S. White Station Road
9:50 - 10:45 a.m. Speak at Hard Rock Café, 315 Beale
11:25 - noon Speak at Commodore Villages, 4486 Babe Howard, Millington
12:30 - 1:10 p.m. Speak at Arlington Travel Center, 4935 Airline Road, Arlington
1:30 - 2:10 p.m. Speak at Homebuilders Association offices, 776 North Germantown Parkway, Cordova
3 - 3:45 p.m. Stop at the Forest Hill Animal Hospital in Germantown, Irene Rd, Suite 102
4 - 5:15 p.m. Knock on neighborhood doors in Collierville. 700 block of South Tree
6 - 7:30 p.m. Speak at a meet and greet dinner at Gill Ranch, 7901 E. Holmes Rd
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