Tag: Stokes Nielson

Haslam Talks About Possible 2020 Senate Run with His Friend, Vice President Mike Pence

Jason M. Reynolds

Former Gov. Bill Haslam reportedly met with Vice President Mike Pence to talk about possibly running for the Senate, and Pence encouraged him to make the bid, Politico reported. Haslam has been interested in running for the seat being vacated next year by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Haslam and Pence met Wednesday to talk about the potential run, WREG said. Haslam said he would decide sometime in this spring. U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Dr. Manish “Manny” Sethi have also shown interest in running, the station said. Pence and Haslam drum up a friendship when Pence became governor of Indiana in 2013, and the men worked together as governors, WBIR said. The vice president notwithstanding, Tennessee’s former governor may have worn out his welcome among conservatives. The Club for Growth Action, a conservative Super PAC, earlier in March released a video aimed at discouraging Haslam from running for Alexander’s seat, The Tennessee Star reported. The video, titled “Dirty Laundry,” is available to watch here. Club for Growth Action’s video shows what it alleges is a history of Haslam “profiting from his business interest, which had been infected with fraud, racist rants, and practices designed to exploit Hispanic and other…

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Club for Growth PAC Airs Haslam’s ‘Dirty Laundry’ in Video, Website

Jason M. Reynolds

Club for Growth Action, a conservative Super PAC, has a message for former Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam: You’re not welcome in the 2020 Senate race. Club for Growth Action last week released a 60-second digital ad, according to a press release here. The video is available to watch here. The PAC’s video shows what it alleges is a history of Haslam “profiting from his business interest, which had been infected with fraud, racist rants, and practices designed to exploit Hispanic and other customers,” according to the press release. The transcript of the video reads: Racist photos. Resignation refusals. Criminal allegations of rape and assault. Reprehensible slurs vile beyond belief. Liberal Democrats are up to their knees in dirty laundry. And liberal RINO Bill Haslam…he’s dirty, too. Prosecutors say the Haslam family business was infected with fraud. Over a dozen company executives and employees convicted for a conspiracy to defraud mom and pop truckers. Haslam got filthy rich as company co-owner, lining his pockets on the backs of working people. His campaigns for Governor fueled with fat contributions from the executive who masterminded the scheme, Haslam’s golfing buddy Mark Hazelwood. The same man caught on tape spewing racist, drunken rants…

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Stokes Nielson’s Tweet On New Podcast Questioning Possible Senate Hopeful Bill Haslam’s Gas Tax Goes Viral

Laura Baigert

Stokes Nielson’s tweet about his podcast, “The Spirit of Humanity,” which raises questions about former Governor and possible U.S. Senate hopeful Bill Haslam relative to gas tax increases, goes viral with over a half million impressions within hours of its pre-release. As reported by The Tennessee Star, Stokes launched a new issue advocacy initiative called Stokes For Tennessee Freedom to provide a two-way dialogue on issues that could impact Tennessee citizens. Stokes’ first podcast of the new initiative, “The Spirit of Humanity,” was launched through Stokes & Friends on the Westwood One Podcast Network and featured international sensation Korean-born BTS, the “biggest new force in pop” according to Spotify, Dua Lipa, South Korean boy-band Day6, Chinese-Canadian actor, single and songwriter Kris Wu, and country superstar Tim McGraw. In a press release about the podcast, Stokes said that, per his normal practice, he tweeted out the podcast episode to his followers in a pre-release on Tuesday, February 26. Within hours, the tweet had gone viral with nearly 600,000 impressions, which “propelled the episode immediately into the Top 100 of Apple Music Podcasts,” reported Stokes. According to the award-winning songwriter and producer, Stokes, when he inadvertently encountered a fiery street protest in…

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Tennessee Star EXCLUSIVE: Country Music’s Stokes Nielson Launches a New Initiative ‘Stokes for Tennessee Freedom’

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Stokes Nielson granted The Tennessee Star an exclusive sit-down in the shadow of the State Capitol to talk about the new venture he is initiating called Stokes For Tennessee Freedom. Stokes will be recognized for his country music career as an award-winning songwriter with the band The Lost Trailers, originally named Stokes Nielson and The Lost Trailers. The twice-nominated band for the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Group is probably best known for their “Holler Back” single that reached #9 on the country music charts. Stokes, energized and passionate about his new mission, didn’t dwell on his country music career other than to say that he has a background in the business and that he is involved with that community or how it relates to his new initiative. The meeting with The Star, arranged confidentially by a third party without revealing the name of the interviewee, eliminated any potential distracting interview questions about Stokes’ country music life, and allowed the focus to be on his Stokes For Tennessee Freedom effort and what lead him to it. Almost immediately after the introductions, Stokes presented a photocopy of a hand-written letter, currently housed in the National Archives,…

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