TN MAGA mayoral candidate uses images of strangers from 2016 and claims them as supporters

[longtimelurker]

"'Absolutely appalled!' That's what a group of women from across the country are saying about how a candidate for Franklin mayor appears to have lifted their social media posts to falsely claim them as her supporters.

Franklin alderman Gabrielle Hanson, a controversial candidate who appears to relish her MAGA Republican ties, may not have thought that anyone would track down the women whose photos she posted last month on her campaign's social media accounts."

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/appalled-women-say-maga-mayoral-candidate-ripped-off-their-images-to-claim-them-as-supporters?fbclid=IwAR3BGRxyYn-RjhxEjR8p_oUrLY6etXJruykv97o_BymDlCuQVtQcOrNeJBQ

[100% pro-life no matter what]

This is my city.  It's going to be a very interesting mayoral race.  There are two candidates running:

Ken Moore (R): Longtime incumbent Mayor of Franklin running for reelection to a fourth full term (plus a few months in 2011 before his election to a full term).  He's typically kept a low profile and been generic and inoffensive.  He ran unopposed in 2019.

However, over the last few years, he's upset some of the conservative base.  While powerless to stop it, he very vocally disagreed with Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson's decision to lift a mask mandate in February 2021 (a couple months before most mandates fell).  Many believe that the only reason the county mayor issued one at all was due to heavy lobbying from Moore.

The more recent frustration many have with Moore is over the Franklin Pride event.  Following a 2022 event that included a drag show, there was a push to not allow a pride festival at a park in 2023.  When the city council voted on a permit for the event, it deadlocked 4-4.  Mayor Moore broke the tie in favor of allowing the festival (while also giving explicit instructions about what activities were allowed at it and saying that he didn't know why they'd even want to have it in Franklin).

Gabrielle Hanson (R): Hanson is a member of the Franklin City Council who was elected to an at-large seat in a special election in 2021.  She's been the most vocal right-wing voice in the government of this Republican-leaning city.  An example of this was that she was the loudest voice opposing allowing the Franklin Pride festival to take place.

However, there are questions about her candidacy.  There's the thing noted about her putting photos on social media of groups of people, pretending that they're her supporters.  Another question has emerged about her residency.  Her husband was the Republican nominee in 2022 for a deep-blue congressional district in Chicago.  She's stated in the past that she moved to Franklin in 2012.  Her real estate website seems to be active for both Franklin and Chicago.
__________________________

Ultimately, I think Moore will win.  He's also helped by the fact that there's no Democratic-affiliated candidate.  There may have been appetite for a conservative challenger to Ken Moore, but Gabrielle Hanson has probably made too many mistakes to win.

[Tekken_Guy]

This is my city.  It's going to be a very interesting mayoral race.  There are two candidates running:

Ken Moore (R) Longtime incumbent Mayor of Franklin running for reelection to a fourth full term (plus a few months in 2011 before his election to a full term).  He's typically kept a low profile and been generic and inoffensive.  He ran unopposed in 2019.

However, over the last few years, he's upset some of the conservative base.  While powerless to stop it, he very vocally disagreed with Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson's decision to lift a mask mandate in February 2021 (a couple months before most mandates fell).  Many believe that the only reason the county mayor issued one at all was due to heavy lobbying from Moore.

The more recent frustration many have with Moore is over the Franklin Pride event.  Following a 2022 event that included a drag show, there was a push to not allow a pride festival at a park in 2023.  When the city council voted on a permit for the event, it deadlocked 4-4.  Mayor Moore broke the tie in favor of allowing the festival (while also giving explicit instructions about what activities were allowed at it and saying that he didn't know why they'd even want to have it in Franklin).

Gabrielle Hanson (R) Hanson is a member of the Franklin City Council who was elected to an at-large seat in a special election in 2021.  She's been the most vocal right-wing voice in the government of this Republican-leaning city.  An example of this was that she was the loudest voice opposing allowing the Franklin Pride festival to take place.

However, there are questions about her candidacy.  There's the thing noted about her putting photos on social media of groups of people, pretending that they're her supporters.  Another question has emerged about her residency.  Her husband was the Republican nominee in 2022 for a deep-blue congressional district in Chicago.  She's stated in the past that she moved to Franklin in 2012.  Her real estate website seems to be active for both Franklin and Chicago.
__________________________

Ultimately, I think Moore will win.  He's also helped by the fact that there's no Democratic-affiliated candidate.  There may have been appetite for a conservative challenger to Ken Moore, but Gabrielle Hanson has probably made too many mistakes to win.

This part of the country generally favors establishment Republicans over MAGA candidates so I’d say that Moore’s favored.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

This is my city.  It's going to be a very interesting mayoral race.  There are two candidates running:

Ken Moore (R) Longtime incumbent Mayor of Franklin running for reelection to a fourth full term (plus a few months in 2011 before his election to a full term).  He's typically kept a low profile and been generic and inoffensive.  He ran unopposed in 2019.

However, over the last few years, he's upset some of the conservative base.  While powerless to stop it, he very vocally disagreed with Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson's decision to lift a mask mandate in February 2021 (a couple months before most mandates fell).  Many believe that the only reason the county mayor issued one at all was due to heavy lobbying from Moore.

The more recent frustration many have with Moore is over the Franklin Pride event.  Following a 2022 event that included a drag show, there was a push to not allow a pride festival at a park in 2023.  When the city council voted on a permit for the event, it deadlocked 4-4.  Mayor Moore broke the tie in favor of allowing the festival (while also giving explicit instructions about what activities were allowed at it and saying that he didn't know why they'd even want to have it in Franklin).

Gabrielle Hanson (R) Hanson is a member of the Franklin City Council who was elected to an at-large seat in a special election in 2021.  She's been the most vocal right-wing voice in the government of this Republican-leaning city.  An example of this was that she was the loudest voice opposing allowing the Franklin Pride festival to take place.

However, there are questions about her candidacy.  There's the thing noted about her putting photos on social media of groups of people, pretending that they're her supporters.  Another question has emerged about her residency.  Her husband was the Republican nominee in 2022 for a deep-blue congressional district in Chicago.  She's stated in the past that she moved to Franklin in 2012.  Her real estate website seems to be active for both Franklin and Chicago.
__________________________

Ultimately, I think Moore will win.  He's also helped by the fact that there's no Democratic-affiliated candidate.  There may have been appetite for a conservative challenger to Ken Moore, but Gabrielle Hanson has probably made too many mistakes to win.

This part of the country generally favors establishment Republicans over MAGA candidates so I’d say that Moore’s favored.

Historically, that's true, but Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (who's to the right of Ken Moore) only won his primary against Gary Humble, a right-wing activist, by three points last year.  But, while it was an open primary, many Democrats likely didn't vote in it.  And, you have to imagine that most Democrats will vote for Moore.  Plus, that district covers the vast majority of Williamson County, not just the city limits of Franklin.

[Tekken_Guy]

This is my city.  It's going to be a very interesting mayoral race.  There are two candidates running:

Ken Moore (R) Longtime incumbent Mayor of Franklin running for reelection to a fourth full term (plus a few months in 2011 before his election to a full term).  He's typically kept a low profile and been generic and inoffensive.  He ran unopposed in 2019.

However, over the last few years, he's upset some of the conservative base.  While powerless to stop it, he very vocally disagreed with Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson's decision to lift a mask mandate in February 2021 (a couple months before most mandates fell).  Many believe that the only reason the county mayor issued one at all was due to heavy lobbying from Moore.

The more recent frustration many have with Moore is over the Franklin Pride event.  Following a 2022 event that included a drag show, there was a push to not allow a pride festival at a park in 2023.  When the city council voted on a permit for the event, it deadlocked 4-4.  Mayor Moore broke the tie in favor of allowing the festival (while also giving explicit instructions about what activities were allowed at it and saying that he didn't know why they'd even want to have it in Franklin).

Gabrielle Hanson (R) Hanson is a member of the Franklin City Council who was elected to an at-large seat in a special election in 2021.  She's been the most vocal right-wing voice in the government of this Republican-leaning city.  An example of this was that she was the loudest voice opposing allowing the Franklin Pride festival to take place.

However, there are questions about her candidacy.  There's the thing noted about her putting photos on social media of groups of people, pretending that they're her supporters.  Another question has emerged about her residency.  Her husband was the Republican nominee in 2022 for a deep-blue congressional district in Chicago.  She's stated in the past that she moved to Franklin in 2012.  Her real estate website seems to be active for both Franklin and Chicago.
__________________________

Ultimately, I think Moore will win.  He's also helped by the fact that there's no Democratic-affiliated candidate.  There may have been appetite for a conservative challenger to Ken Moore, but Gabrielle Hanson has probably made too many mistakes to win.

This part of the country generally favors establishment Republicans over MAGA candidates so I’d say that Moore’s favored.

Historically, that's true, but Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (who's to the right of Ken Moore) only won his primary against Gary Humble, a right-wing activist, by three points last year.  But, while it was an open primary, many Democrats likely didn't vote in it.  And, you have to imagine that most Democrats will vote for Moore.  Plus, that district covers the vast majority of Williamson County, not just the city limits of Franklin.

I assume Franklin is less MAGA than the county itself.

[Sir Mohamed]

Sounds like stuff George Santos would do, lol.

It's quite common stock photos are used for campaign websites and bumper stickers, but that's a different story here. Seems pretty obnoxious. Not that it surprises me; even a ton of people showed up during Trump's 2015 announcement speech were paid.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Franklin elections are tomorrow (Tuesday).  It's basically a slate of moderate centrist Republicans against one of ultra-conservative and/or MAGA Republicans.

I'm listing the centrist first in all of these:

Mayor: Ken Moore vs. Gabrielle Hanson
Alderman 1: Clyde Barnhill unopposed (the one that both sides agree on)
Alderman 2: Brandy Blanton vs. Gary Moore (no relation to Ken Moore)
Alderman 3: Greg Caesar vs. Patrick George (with a third option in perennial candidate BK Muvvala)
Alderman 4: Ann Petersen vs. Jeff Feldman

This might also be the first election where I'm legitimately undecided in some of these races the day before I vote.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It looks like the MAGA slate was soundly thrashed last night (hooray!)  ER, do you have any thoughts from the local perspective?

[Progressive Pessimist]

It looks like the MAGA slate was soundly thrashed last night (hooray!)  ER, do you have any thoughts from the local perspective?

I'm very pleasantly surprised. Not to make everything about America, but this kind of reminds of the Polish elections.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Moore absolutely thrashed Hanson 12,822 (79.4%) to 3,322 (20.6%). That's actually fairly low turnout (2020 had over 34k votes in Franklin) but maybe not that surprising for an odd-year election, (also shows that the MAGA crowd really aren't motivated at all.)

Alderman results:

At-Large B: Blanton: 10946 (70.1%) Moore: 4666 (29.9%)

At-Large C: Caesar: 10336 (67.1%) George: 4249 (27.6%) Muvvala: 825 (5.4%)

At-Large D: Petersen: 10961 (72.1%) Feldman: 4243 (27.9%)

[100% pro-life no matter what]

It looks like the MAGA slate was soundly thrashed last night (hooray!)  ER, do you have any thoughts from the local perspective?

Sorry, I didn't have time to get on here earlier.  There was legitimate frustration with Ken Moore among many conservatives.  But, he has deep ties to Franklin- especially establishment "Old Franklin"-, and he was likely always going to win.  But, the margin was definitely hurt by Gabrielle Hanson.  I've had many frustrations with Ken Moore, but even I couldn't stomach the thought of voting for Hanson again (I did vote for her for alderman in 2021, but most of the baggage wasn't known yet).

The rest of the slate (apart from Feldman, who had some issues of his own) was really dragged down by Hanson.  They still did close to 10% better than she did, but that association with her definitely hurt them.  I doubt any of them would have won, but they could have been closer than they were.

And, I should say that all candidates except maybe BK Muvvala ran as conservatives (just different brands of them).  Mailers from the "moderate" slate tended to focus on things like low taxes and economic growth though.

Turnout was actually way higher than it had been in the past for city elections, I'm pretty sure.  Gabrielle Hanson energized people, one way or the other.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

It looks like the MAGA slate was soundly thrashed last night (hooray!)  ER, do you have any thoughts from the local perspective?

Sorry, I didn't have time to get on here earlier.  There was legitimate frustration with Ken Moore among many conservatives.  But, he has deep ties to Franklin- especially establishment "Old Franklin"-, and he was likely always going to win. 

You know I have to say, Franklin really does not look like a place that voted for Trump. If you plopped me in it with no indication of where it was located and blinded me to license plates or any signs, I would honestly have probably called it a Biden>60% city, since that's exactly what places with that sort of charming historic look vote like here. I suppose demographically it probably would be if it wasn't in Tennessee of course.

Anyway I'm listening to a Hopesfall album now but I'll have to blare this in honor when it's done.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also I'm pretty sure Franklin had emo/hardcore shows in it during my high school and early college years. Places that look like it always did. Like why play there instead of Nashville, right? But there always were places like that that got some shows, because someone would rent out like an American Legion or maybe something like a Christian youth center (likely for some Christian hardcore bands) and hold an all ages shows for the kids who were into that stuff but go to 18/21+ shows in Nashville and whose parents may not even let them go to all ages shows there anyway, and would attract a few Nashville commuters. That's how things worked back then, before now when the age of the median person who goes to those type of shows is ~35 and thus they're always either in either dive bars or specified clubs in major cities.

I have no doubt Hayley Williams saw some of the bands that inspired her in her actual hometown.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

It's also worth saying that there were many Gabrielle Hanson scandals that weren't chronicled here.  They include:

-Being arrested for promoting prostitution in the '90s (she claims that she was an unknowing receptionist)

-Her husband marching in just a speedo in a Chicago pride parade in the 2000s (as a "liberal Republican" running for Congress) when she made her focal point opposition to pride parades.

-Being initially silent (though eventually condemning it in generic terms) on white supremacists who stood outside a debate to "protect her".  To be clear, she did not invite them there.

-Her husband being a Illinois resident who ran for office there as recently as 2022 (this one, I kind of actually get as some rich families with two homes do actually split their legal residences, but it's politically a bad look).

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Surprise, surprise-

She's alleging fraud in her 80-20 loss.  Apparently, she's upset that voter turnout was three times higher than usual, which must mean that there were a bunch of fake votes (and certainly not that more people were motivated to vote).

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/franklin-politics/defeated-franklin-mayor-candidate-gabrielle-hanson-doesnt-see-defeat-imagines-conspiracy-instead

[GeorgiaModerate]

Surprise, surprise-

She's alleging fraud in her 80-20 loss.  Apparently, she's upset that voter turnout was three times higher than usual, which must mean that there were a bunch of fake votes (and certainly not that more people were motivated to vote).

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/franklin-politics/defeated-franklin-mayor-candidate-gabrielle-hanson-doesnt-see-defeat-imagines-conspiracy-instead

She should compare notes with Georgia's Kandiss Taylor, who got 3% of the vote in last year's Republican gubernatorial primary and claims it was stolen from her.

Also, "imagines conspiracy" is a perfect turn of phrase to describe the mindset of these election deniers.