Following the official announcement regarding his decision to run for Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, WWE Superstar Glenn “Kane” Jacobs spoke with The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling to share his thoughts on his life-changing career move.
Glenn reveals in this interview with John Poz and Chad what led to his decision to finally run for public office and the speculation that has been circulating among wrestling’s deepest inner circles for years regarding his political aspirations.
Glenn Jacobs On His Decision To Run For Mayor Of Knox County, Tennessee:
“That’s right, I’ve just made my announcement that I am going to be running for the office of Knox County Mayor in Tennessee. I am really thrilled about doing that and it is something that I have thought about doing for a long time, getting into politics and finally have what I think is to be a great opportunity and I am really looking forward to getting out on the campaign trail and meeting people down here in Knoxville and talking with them about the issues and getting to know them and hopefully them getting to know me so it is a very exciting time.”
Finally ending the speculation regarding his running:
“It is something that I have considered for quite a while. I’ve always been interested in government and politics ever since I was a kid and now getting into it is a bit of a culmination because I’ve sort of been on the periphery of it for a number of years as far as things that I’ve been involved with and I’ve written op-eds and articles and that sort of stuff, met a lot of people and learned somewhat how the process works and now actually moving into that process it is very exciting. A little apprehensive as well because it is a different world for me, I am stepping out of my comfort zone but I think hopefully it is something I can manage.”
What does it mean to be able to speak for people in his community:
“That means a lot to me. The most rewarding thing that WWE has given me is the ability to touch people’s lives and I find it ironic that Kane is one of the most as you said most menacing characters on television but Kane in many ways allows me to help make my world, my corner of the world a little bit of a better place. That is something I am so grateful for that WWE has given me, it is a gift. Through the years as I’ve matured and gotten older I have realized how powerful that is and we can make a positive change even if it is that we can say that folks needs some help and can get the word out about that. As you said, the wild-fires were a terrible disaster down this way and we saw another huge celebrity, Dolly Parton step up and what she did was just amazing bringing awareness and also financial support to our community was just incredible. That to me is the most rewarding thing out of my entire WWE career is that ability of even just having people come up to me and shake my hand and thank me for giving them years of entertainment. I can’t tell you what that means to me because I am the one thanking them for watching and allowing them to do something that I love to do. It is something unique that not everybody gets to experience and something that I am very grateful for.”
How close has he come to running in the past:
“Some people tried to convince me to challenge Lamar Alexander who is the sitting Senator from Tennessee and has been around Tennessee for a very long time (former Governor of Tennessee) a few years ago and I just didn’t think that would be possible because that is literally like going into the Main Event of WrestleMania (or pretty darn close to it). This race on the other hand it’s certainly nothing to sneeze at. People may hear Knox County, Tennessee and think how big is Knox County, Tennessee? We have about 450,000 people in the county so it’s a mid-major city metropolitan area, the budget is just shy of 800 million dollars so this is also not exactly bush league stuff, this is a pretty big deal and my opponents are all seasoned and I am really looking forward to that as well because they are all fine people. I am really looking forward into getting up-close and seeing how things work and with me being able to do some different things that other people can’t do as far as campaigning in unique ways and I think a lot of what is key for me is bringing new people into the process and into the election process.”
“I am going to run as a Republican and I think I will have the ability to help grow the Republican party locally. The reason I am running as a Republican is because I believe very strongly in the foundations of the republican party, which are free market as well as personal freedom and that is the message that I need to get out there and I need to get it out there especially among young people. Frankly those are the future of the country and I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for fact as you said, I’ve put in a lot of work to get to where I was in WWE. I overcame obstacles to get to WWE, I had the opportunity to do those things because I live in America and I grew up in America. I’ve been so fortunate that I was able to live the American dream and that has to be available for my kids and my grand kids. The ability to do what you want with your life and the opportunity to build the life that you want and sometimes of course it feels like that is slipping through our fingers and a lot of times we look at Washington, D.C. as a problem (a person like me does) but local elected officials have probably more impact on your life than the people in Washington, D.C. We often get wrapped up in the “WWE of politics” which is at the Federal level and the Presidential Election and those sort of things but all levels or government matter and for someone like me who has been given just tremendous opportunities to take advantage of I want to keep those opportunities alive and I think it starts with me here in Knox County, Tennessee.”
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