Kane declares victory in close Knox County mayoral primary

While there are still provisional votes to be counted, Glenn Jacobs (Kane) has declared victory in his bid to become the Republican candidate for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

Jacobs ended tonight with a 17-vote lead over second-place finisher Brad Anders. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, he received 14,633 votes to Anders’ 14,616. Bob Thomas came in third with 11,296 votes.

There are 43 provisional ballots remaining, with election officials set to decide if they’re eligible to be added to the count. Of those votes, 38 are due to the voter not having a record of registration, four are due to not having photo identification, and one person had to vote by paper because of a problem with the electronic system.

The provisional votes will be counted this Thursday. Anders has yet to address the subject of a recount.

Jacobs’ campaign declared victory after tonight’s results, “Glenn, along with his family, volunteers and supporters declare victory in a hard-fought Knox County Mayoral race this evening. Together we won! Tomorrow, we move forward.”

Jacobs himself also sent a message to everyone who has supported him, “Thanks to everyone who helped win this historic victory!! The people who cast a ballot for me, my great team, my wonderful volunteers. Looking forward to VICTORY in the general election!”

That general election will take place on August 2nd, and the Republican candidate will be the overwhelming favorite to become the next mayor. While this isn’t always an accurate representation of how the general election will turn out, Democratic primary winner Linda Haney received 4,250 votes tonight — over 10,000 less than Jacobs.

Jacobs didn’t travel to Saudi Arabia for last Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble and had been making his final primary push over the last few days. His most recent in-ring appearance was in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.