Hatley Campaign Gains Steam, Blackburn Launches Another Attack Ad

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

From the Principal Toyota Studios, it's Morning in Memphis with Todd Starnes.

Todd Starnes (0:08)

And hello everybody, I hope you're doing well wherever you might be this morning, getting off to a very busy start. We have a lot of big news stories happening here in the Mid-South and really around the country. I want you to write down our telephone number, you're gonna need this to call in, 901-260-5926.

That's 901-260-5926.

So yesterday, early voting, we should be getting in those official numbers, but from all accounts, look like a pretty strong turnout across the entire state. And right here in Shelby County, would certainly like to hear from you this morning. What was it like at the polling station you went to? I will tell you that I normally vote in Germantown, and it was a very busy polling precinct, as a matter of fact. It took about, I don't know, 25, 30 minutes to get in there to vote. Everybody in a good mood. There were a couple of first-time voters, and they do something up really nice, you know, for the first-time voters. They treat them really well. The rest of us, you know, we got to... Well, no, they treat us well, too. But it was in and out. I'm the guy that always asks for the paper ballot. Still like to... I'm old school. I like to be able to fill in the circles myself and cast my vote and got the sticker. And I will say this, the crowds, there was... This was just an observation. So as you walk up to go vote, there are representatives from the various candidates there. And as a matter of fact, in some cases, there are actually candidates there. And you say hello, got to say hello to Mark White and his lovely bride.

Of course, Mark running for re-election for the state house. And so anyway, there were a number of candidates or their, you know, or their representatives there. And they're trying to... You know, they're handing you all the information. So, you know, you can... Maybe they can influence your vote, which is all perfectly normal. They do that, you know, every election cycle. But there was just one... This was really funny. There was just one candidate, and it really wasn't the candidate at all. It was the representative of the candidate. And they said, we want you to vote for this person. And I said, well, I only vote for Republicans, bona fide Republicans. And the person really got upset with me.

And was, you know, well, my candidate is a Republican. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know, okay, all right. Glad to hear that. But it's not on my list of bona fide Republicans. So I don't see the name here. Not a lot of joy in that camp. So anyway, all that to say, folks, at the end of the day, it's an election. Be nice, be polite, and, you know, don't get upset if somebody doesn't vote for your guy or your gal. I mean, that's the way it is. So all right. So anyway, I would love to hear from you today how things went. I do want to share a couple of items, and there may be folks, and maybe you haven't voted before. This is, there's a lot of stuff on the ballot. So be sure. Someone sent me a note yesterday and said, Todd, when I wanted to vote, there was only like the governor's race and the ballot initiatives, and that was it. Was there more to the election? And I said, yes. And I asked the person, did you flip over the ballot? Because there are two sides.

So just remember that. Two sides. Take your time. Fill it out. Make sure you understand, you know, what you're voting for. And I really do appreciate the fact that the poll workers actually, actually sent, you know, as people were standing in line, they were handing them copies of the ballot initiatives. So people, if they didn't understand what they were voting for, they could read up on it and understand. Also, I've got to read this. This is from a group. So our good friends, the Real Housewives of Germantown sent this over. This is the Facebook group, Memphis Raise Your Expectations.

And a woman writing in says, I voted early today. When I went to the table, I was not asked if I wanted a Democrat or Republican ballot. When I entered the form into the machine, the ballot came up and I was a little confused. Marsha Blackburn's name was the first name listed on my ballot. So I stuck my head out and asked the poll worker if there was a Democrat or a Republican ballot. He said, yes. That was incorrect. A female worker came over and I said, why is she pointing out? Why do we need to know if it was a female worker? Anyway, so she goes on to say, she was incredibly confused. She's enraged that Marsha Blackburn was at the top of the ballot. She says, I am a reasonably intelligent woman and good reader. The ballot threw me for a loop. It seems like, all caps, it seems like just another way to confuse the voters. Who thought that was a good idea?