Mike Padgett has visited all 95 counties in Tennessee in his bid for U.S. Senate, and found people across the state "struggling to buy a few gallons of gas or a sackful of groceries." Read his thoughts in the presser after the jump...

IN 95 COUNTIES, MESSAGE IS CLEAR: WE’VE HAD ENOUGH

Tennessee families weary of struggle, looking for hope and help in Washington

LEBANON – With a visit Wednesday to Wilson County, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Padgett has been to all of Tennessee’s 95 counties since late March.

“At courthouses, around town squares, in diners and coffee shops, I have met Tennesseans and heard what they have on their minds,” Padgett said.

“What I’ve found is that families across this state are struggling to buy a few gallons of gas or a sackful of groceries. They wonder where the good-paying jobs have gone and when the troops are coming home from Iraq.

“The idea that you could make a comfortable living from hard work is becoming a mirage to so many of Tennessee’s families. And they want to know who has their back. Who in Washington is looking out for them?

“Well, if they will stand with me, I will work hard each and every day on finding solutions, on finding a way to breathe life back into Tennessee’s middle class.”

Padgett has visited county courthouses and met with the local newspapers and radio stations along the way. He has done a lot of listening, and he shared his ideas on how to solve the “front-porch” problems facing Tennesseans today.

“We need to end tax relief for the wealthiest Americans and for Big Oil,” Padgett said. “Let’s take that money and make sure folks can afford basic needs: fuel for our cars, health care for our families and a better education for our kids. And we’ll create jobs in the process.

“This kind of thinking isn’t what Tennesseans – or the rest of America, for that matter – has gotten from President Bush or Senator Alexander or Senator McCain. But they’ll get that with me. Bank on it.”

William “Mike” Padgett is former Knox County Clerk and small business owner. He and Patty, his wife of 37 years, have three grown children, Matt, Mark and Sara Beth.