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As Franklin voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, the mayoral race marked by white supremacist ties and a contentious candidate, Gabrielle Hanson, reaches its decisive moment.
In Tennessee, a community awaits a decision on who will lead it. As Franklin heads to the polls on Tuesday, a mayoral campaign marred by white supremacist associations and controversial incidents reaches its climax.
The Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF previously shed light on the evolving drama surrounding mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson, whose campaign has been entangled in a web of far-right extremist connections.
Earlier in October, a disquieting scenario unfolded at a candidate forum where self-identified neo-Nazis rallied behind Hanson. Jeff Tischauser, a senior Southern Poverty Law Center researcher, detailed to WTVF the disturbing affiliations of the Tennessee Active Club, the white supremacist group in question, describing it as openly anti-Semitic, racist, and otherwise bigoted.
At the heart of the storm stood Hanson, who found herself escorted to the forum by key figures from the extremist group, including Sean Kauffmann and Brad Lewis. This forum incident spurred seven of the eight Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen members to issue a joint statement condemning the intimidating demeanor exhibited by the neo-Nazis during the forum, underscoring Franklin’s commitment to inclusivity and democratic engagement.
Related: Tennessee Neo-Nazis Show Up to Support Far-Right Mayoral Candidate
On the eve of the election, white supremacists’ presence again became evident, as posters from the far-right group Patriot Front were discovered in parts of downtown Franklin. The signs, denouncing various perceived enemies, were a grim reminder of the extremist ideologies intertwined with this mayoral race.
While being interviewed on the right-wing Patriot Punkcast, Hanson claimed that her white supremacist associates were merely misunderstood, a stance that has drawn national scrutiny.
"The mayoral candidate insisted she didn't see white supremacy in Brad Lewis — the man with the Proud Boys tattoo on his face — or Sean Kauffman, the Hitler-saluting neo-Nazi who's made a habit of protesting local drag shows," WTVF writes.
However, despite the controversies, Hanson’s connections to white supremacists have seemingly electrified the electorate. Early voting saw a surge, with nearly 17 percent of registered voters casting their ballots, a stark contrast to the 3 percent voter turnout in the previous mayoral race, according to WTVF.
The community makes its way to the polls on Tuesday, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. With the election already underway, the city of Franklin waits with bated breath as the mayoral race, tangled in a web of extremist affiliations and controversial incidents, comes to a head.
