Aug. 6 date for House seat debate

Carson, left, Zachary, right

The West Knox Republican Club will be hosting the sole debate between the two candidates seeking the 14th District Republican nomination in the upcoming special election.

The 14th District General Assembly seat was vacated by Ryan Haynes earlier this year after he was appointed as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. The two candidates vying for the seat are Karen Carson, a nurse and Knox County School Board member, and Jason Zachary, a local small business owner. Early voting will take place July 23rd through August 7th, and Election Day is August 12th.

The Republican Primary Debate will take place on Thursday August 6, 2015 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Farragut Town Hall board room located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, Farragut, Tennessee 37934. The event is free and open to the public. Doors to the board room will open at 6:15 p.m. and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The local media is encouraged to attend.

The debate will be moderated by Alexander Waters, the president of the West Knox Republican club, a local attorney with Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C. and a regular panelist on Fox43’s “Heavy Hitter” segment.

The candidates will be given three minutes for an opening statement. Each candidate will be given two  minutes to answer each question asked by the moderator and one minute of rebuttal time. At the conclusion of the questioning period, each candidate will given two minutes to give a closing statement. No questions will be taken from the audience.

The West Knox Republican Club hopes that many members of the 14th District, Farragut and Knox County communities will attend the debate. The Club has reached out to various local Republican clubs, including the Farragut-Concord Republican Club, as well as nonpartisan groups such as the Knoxville Chamber, Farragut Chamber, Realtors Association and League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County to promote the event.

“The West Knox Republican Club is very excited to host this political debate between two active Republican candidates,” said Alexander Waters. “We look forward to facilitating a civil discourse with the candidates on topics important to the 14th District and East Tennessee. We hope the debate will not only educate the community but encourage higher voter turn-out in this crucial election.”