Tim Gobble, 3rd District House candidate, said he plans to attend the Hamilton County Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday night, and he said he should be allowed to speak without paying $2,000.
Van Irion, another 3rd District candidate, said earlier he was boycotting the dinner because of the $2,000 requirement.
Jeff Lewis of his staff said, "The Tim Gobble Campaign has been represented at every Lincoln Day Dinner or Reagan Day Dinner held in the Third District this campaign season. The Hamilton County event will be no exception. Tim Gobble will attend the Hamilton County Lincoln Day Dinner scheduled for Saturday night."
Mr. Gobble said, "Throughout this campaign, I have enjoyed attending party events and talking about the future of our country and how we can work together to make it brighter. Unfortunately, my campaign has been informed by Hamilton County Republican Party officials that unless we pay $2,000 for tables at the Lincoln Day Dinner, I will not be allowed to address those in attendance. This comes even as we have been certified and qualified by the Tennessee Secretary of State to be on the Aug. 5 Republican Primary ballot for the Third District U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am clearly the most qualified candidate in the Third District who has the necessary experience in critical areas of supporting job creation and economic growth, successfully managing public budgets, holding the line on taxes and bureaucracy and protecting national security and public safety. Everywhere I go, people tell me they want a public servant who will spend more time helping people and solving our nation's problems than collecting money from PACs, lobbyists, big dollar donors and party insiders who have little in common with most Tennesseans. Until the party apparatus stops shutting out us regular folks who can't afford to pay big bucks to have a voice, little is going to change. My campaign is about including people, not excluding them.
"All qualified Republican candidates should be allowed to speak, and Party officials should let us have a voice so the people can decide who best represents their interest."