The nastiest Republican primary in the country

[brooklynite]

Politico

So much for Southern hospitality.

This fall, Tennessee will say goodbye to retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander, one of the last of the genteel Republican moderates in the chamber. And the race to replace him has turned into perhaps the ugliest Republican primary in the country — with spurious super PAC attacks, Mitt Romney being invoked as a slur and President Donald Trump lining up on opposite sides as Sen. Ted Cruz.

The race was never supposed to be competitive: The Trump-backed candidate, Bill Hagerty — who served as the president’s ambassador to Japan — was on a glide path. Trump endorsed Hagerty before he even left Tokyo or entered the race. But as the contest has tightened in the run-up to the Aug. 6 election, Hagerty's main opponent, Manny Sethi, has found traction by claiming to be the true, unapologetic Trumpian conservative in the race — while blasting Hagerty as a squishy, Mitt Romney-loving phony.

Hagerty largely ignored Sethi most of the race — seemingly confident of his lead which his internal polls had at 17 points — until earlier this month, when he abruptly went on the offensive. His recent campaign speeches and interviews are chock-full of attack lines. His campaign has dubiously accused Sethi of donating money to a group "bankrolling these rioters" in an ad with a wounded veteran telling voters that Sethi can't be trusted to defend the flag.

[idziak4ever1234]

1. Alexander is a moderate?

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. I'm with you on that one.

[Docreed2003]

2. The ads both campaigns are airing locally have been atrocious

Sethi's ads all seem to play up gears of hoards of evil undocumented immigrants coming to overtake the country, while Hagerty's are all about "lawless" looting and rioting. They are both so over the top it should be laughable, but it's crazy how many people get swept up by these fear tactics. My impression is that Hagerty would be a Trump yes man and Sethi would be a loon like Marsha Blackburn.

[mercuryblues]

4. In my view

neither one comes back from this kind of campaigning. No matter who wins the primary. They are turning off the moderates and independents.

Please proceed