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Eighty Carter County Democrats were hosts Saturday at the LaPorte Recreation Area for the club’s annual Potluck and Politics Picnic with candidates Gloria Johnson, Kevin Jenkins, and Lori Love as special guests. The event was hosted by the Carter County Democratic Women’s Club and the Democratic Party.

In addition to candidates, other special guests included Randy and the Lugnuts, who provided special music.

Among the guests were Gloria Johnson, well-known Tennessee Representative from Knoxville, who is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. She addressed the crowd on the importance of health care and public education and the danger to democracy posed by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. 

Johnson pointed out that her rival Marsha Blackburn not only depends on support from Big Pharma, but also voted against this year’s bipartisan bill on border safety and even the Violence Against Women Act. After her speech, Johnson posed for pictures with many in the crowd.

Jenkins, who resides in Sneedville, is running for the First Congressional District House seat. Having recently lost a friend to gun violence, he cited unfortunate statistics about gun deaths in Tennessee (a rate four times higher, for instance, than the rate in New York). Although he is himself a proud gun owner and a marksman, he argued for common sense regulation to save lives in our state and around the country.

Love is running for Tennessee House District 3, which includes eastern portions of Carter County, plus all of Johnson County and parts of Sullivan County. She is a strong supporter of public education, unions, and women’s rights.

Party officials say enthusiasm among Democrats is running high this year, and Carter County strongly supports its state and national candidates.