Two incumbent Knox County Republican legislators are confident heading into the final days of the 2016 election season, but both are stealing glances over their shoulders—and planning their next moves in the General Assembly should they be reelected to their House seats.

Early voters, who are typically Democrats, have cast ballots in droves, propelled in part by the presidential election. (About 101,270 Knox County voters had cast early ballots as of Monday evening; the Election Commission also received 4,745 absentee ballots. There are 293,340 registered voters in Knox County.) That heartens at least one Democratic candidate.

But District 18 Rep. Martin Daniel and District 89 Rep. Roger Kane, based on their campaign funds and the voting histories and demographics of their districts, expect little trouble securing wins on Nov. 8. Daniel is challenged by Democrat Brandi Price; Kane faces Heather Hensley.

Daniel topped challengers Steve Hall and James Corcoran in a bruising GOP primary that peaked with Hall filing assault charges against Daniel after a fracas broadcast live on WOKI during the popular Hallerin Hilton Hill Show. Daniel says he has a court date Nov. 9—the day after the election—but doesn’t want to talk about it.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with my representation of the district,” Martin says. But at the same time he seems to consider the incident a badge of honor, of sorts: In a post on his Facebook campaign page, he shared: “‘Quote from yesterday’s campaign trail: When you stood up for yourself at the radio interview, I knew then I would vote for you.’”

Price cites the incident during a phone interview. “I don’t think that he has the focus or temperament to be our representative,” she says of Daniel. She says his unabashed support for business and focus on deregulation only benefits a handful of people—including the representative.

“I think while business is important for our economy, there are 65,000 people in our district who need representation,” Price says.

She says strong turnout for early voting buoys her. “I think if we can get people out to the polls and vote, I think I have a fair chance of winning,” she says.

Prices’ platforms are Democratic go-tos, including support for expanded health care coverage and opposition to voucher programs and state outsourcing efforts, especially at the University of Tennessee. Price has a distinct fundraising disadvantage; she raised $3,505 in the third quarter, spent $2,500, and entered the campaign stretch with $2,212.

Daniel outraised and outspent her by notable amounts: Daniel received $15,000 in the third quarter and spent $28,000. He had $4,300 as of Oct. 1, but his campaign still carries personal loans totaling an eye-popping $230,000. His war chest and incumbent status, combined with the fact the last Democrat in a district general election won only 39 percent of the vote, make his return to Nashville likely. He also managed to separate himself from prime primary opponent Hall by 10 percent of the vote in the four-way August GOP primary, despite the assault charge and other controversies, including intemperate remarks about Muhammad Ali following the Champ’s death and a successful effort to defund the University of Tennessee’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

So it’s not surprising he’s looking ahead to the 2017 legislative session.

The university will again be in his crosshairs. He plans to present a bill requiring an audit of the entire university and board of regents systems.

“We don’t know it’s being run efficiently,” he says of the systems, which receive $1.5 billion in funding per year. He acknowledges that such an audit would be very expensive—he estimates it would cost between $3 million and $5 million—but the annual savings could be twice that, he says.

Daniel also expects to address transportation infrastructure improvements and the state’s gasoline and diesel taxes. The 18-cent-per-gallon rate for gasoline has been unchanged since 1989. Efforts to change it in recent sessions have met with little success.

The Legislature will also likely discuss legalization of marijuana for medical uses and the creation of $7,000 “education savings accounts” so the parents of disabled children can seek alternative education settings.

He thinks the UT Office of Diversity and Inclusion will see its funding restored, as legislation called for its funding to be diverted for only one year.

“Unless they embarrass us again,” he says.

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In District 89, Republican Rep. Roger Kane will likely return to Nashville for a third consecutive term. He was first elected to the office in 2012 when the new district was created via redistricting to account for population growth in the northwest part of Knox County.

He faces largely token opposition from Democrat Heather Hensley, a registered nurse who reported only $350 in campaign funds and didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story. Kane raised $6,650 in the third quarter; he spent $11,000. Including previous cash on hand, and if he doesn’t spend a lot in the fourth quarter, he can go to Nashville with a comfortable cushion of $45,000 in campaign funds.

So Kane, like Daniel, is looking ahead to the 2017 session.

One of his main constituent complaints, he says, is health care; even those who were able to obtain coverage under the Affordable Care Act—Kane, an insurance broker, cites the importance of such coverage to real estate agents and contractors who don’t have group coverage—are dismayed to see forecasts of rate increases of at least 25 percent.

Kane served on the 3-Star Healthy Task Force that examined ways to expand coverage to the state’s poor and uninsured, left without health care because of the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid coverage under the ACA. He says a pilot program that would focus on veterans and preventative care will be proposed to the General Assembly in January, provided it is approved by the federal government.

“Insure Tennessee would just open the floodgates,” Kane says of health-care expansion legislation supported by the Haslam administration but flatly rejected by General Assembly Republicans.

Education will also be a focus for Kane, who is chairman of the House Education Instruction and Programs Subcommittee. “We’ve made great strides academically, but we continue to have funding issues,” he says. He says the committee will also continue to examine and revise the state’s education curriculum, including changing the grades at which some content is taught and expanding geography instruction. Like other legislators, he also wants movement on road improvements, citing needs in Solway and on Hardin Valley Road and Oak Ridge Highway.

He seems averse to acrimony. “I still get along great with Democratic friends,” he says, in spite of an especially contentious presidential race.

“People ask me when I’m going to fix Washington. I say, ‘Never. I’m a state representative.’”

Early voting ends Thursday; polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. For specific ballots, precincts, and voter information go to knoxcounty.org/election.

18 District House Race

MARTIN DANIEL
Job: 18th District state House representative; majority owner, Elevation Outdoor Advertising
Age: 59
Education: University of Tennessee; J.D., University of Memphis
Prior political experience: Incumbent one-term 18th district House representative.
Family: Wife; two children

BRANDI PRICE
Job: Juvenile court attorney
Age: 28
Education: J.D., Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law
Prior political experience: None
Family: Single; no children

89th District House Race

ROGER KANE
Job: 89th state House representative; insurance agent
Age: 52
Education: University of Houston; education and logistics
Prior political experience: Two-term 89th District representative
Family: Wife; four children

HEATHER C. HENSLEY
Job: Registered nurse
Education: Pellissippi State Community College, Tennessee Wesleyan College, and Tennessee Tech University
Prior political experience: None
Family: Husband

Thomas Fraser

Knox County-based journalist Thomas Fraser is a native of Charleston, S.C. who grew up in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and has worked as an editor and reporter for daily newspapers and websites in Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia.