The two-man race for the Republican nomination for Tennessee State Senate ends on a sour note.
Both Greg Vital and Todd Gardenhire are conservatives who support Gov. Bill Haslam's programs, but personal disputes have dominated the final days of the race.
TODD GARDENHIRE, SENATE CANDIDATE "You don't get into a race like this with somebody with the kind of money he has and expect to have a cake-walk."
Todd Gardenhire is a former staff member during the Reagan administration, now in his first campaign for office.
This race got off on the wrong foot early on when he accused the Vital campaign of sending out a potentially damaging mailer. The source of the mailer is still unknown.
Vital, a former Collegedale city commissioner, agrees that the race got off-track.
GREG VITAL, SENATE CANDIDATE "Well, its interesting that people always get excited about their politics in east Tennessee, I'm excited a lot of people are excited about our campaign and working awful hard for our victory."
On issues facing the district and the state, both men laid out their goals.
TODD GARDENHIRE "Everybody goes up there with good ideas, and things they want to accomplish..but what I want to do is I want to make sure that our environment here in the Chattanooga, Bradley county area...is the type that will will attract industry to come to the state and locate here."
GREG VITAL "I've been a job creator for the last 20 some odd years. I see what's going on up there, the movement of Volkswagen, Wacker, small industries..leadership of governor Haslam, we need to kind of keep that momentum moving forward."
TODD GARDENHIRE "I'd like to make sure that the taxes are kept low, the budget is completely squeezed down, everything possible on it, and really protect the individual freedoms that we have."
GREG VITAL "Its not always about what you read or what you hear. People that know me for the last 30 years know I'm about job creation, caring about out community and about public service."
The winner of that race will the winner of the democratic primary in November.
Vying for the job now held by Democrat Andy Berke, are Quenston Coleman, Andrae McGary, and David Testerman.
