Tennessee state Representative Joe Carr, the conservative candidate who is challenging Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in an August 7th primary, said the “grassroots has absolutely caught fire” as he closes in on Alexander in the final week of the campaign.
Appearing on Breitbart News Sunday, an enthusiastic Carr, who has been endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and talk radio host Laura Ingraham, suggested the race was now much closer than it was two weeks ago, when a poll showed that Alexander only had a seven-point lead. He said he had a “plan for eleven months, and it came together,” and now the campaign is within striking distance.
Carr blasted Alexander for admitting that he knew about the problem of the “tidal wave” of illegal immigrants flooding across the border from Central America for two years and doing nothing about it. In fact, Carr reminded listeners that Alexander voted for the Senate’s amnesty bill even after law enforcement officials warned Alexander that it would lure more illegal immigrants from Central America.
Carr, on the other hand, has been the “author” and “architect” of some of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the nation. After running on a platform that “illegal immigration was overtaking our communities in Tennessee” and straining the state’s schools, courts, prisons, and social services, Carr said he immediately started work on legislation to address the issues. He said Tennessee was being “overrun with illegals and the problems that ensued,” and that is why he started to do something about it immediately upon getting sworn in. He passed legislation that mandated E-Verify and prohibited taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants. Tennessee also drafted a resolution that supported Arizona’s SB 1070 law.
In the Senate, Carr said he would supplement the national perspectives on the issue of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) with his proven record of countering the illegal immigration issue in his state.
“I bring a state perspective to the problem of illegal immigration,” Carr stated, emphasizing that state and national perspectives are needed for the most effective solutions on illegal immigration. He said that states and the federal government are cooperative on almost everything, but not immigration laws.
In addition to Alexander’s vote for the Senate’s amnesty bill, Tennessee’s voters are fed up with politicians who have not represented their interests. He said Tennessee has not had a “constitutional conservative in years,” which is why he decided to run “against the elite in the state.” Carr emphasized that Alexander has not done anything in 12 years in the Senate and is out of touch with the grassroots.
“Time has passed Lamar by,” Carr said.
Anticipating an extremely close race and a late election night, Carr also had a message for everyone who followed Mississippi’s Senate primary between state Senator Chris McDaniel and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) that went down to the wire: “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Carr asserted.