WWE wrestler Glenn Jacobs has won the Republican primary for Knox County mayor by a margin of only 17 votes, WATE reported. The Knox County Election Commission says there are, however, a few provisional ballots, so the results won’t be official until next week.
Jacobs, a former WWE wrestler aka “Kane,” and insurance agent, faced off against county commissioners Brad Anders and Bob Thomas.
The election was not without issues, WKYT reported. Just before 10:15 p.m. on Election Day, the Knox County Election Commission website showed Jacobs with a 17-vote lead taking the candidacy over Anders in the primary election. While Jacobs called it a “WWE finish” to sister station WVLT, Anders said he was not conceding until the provisional ballots have been counted.
According to Knox County officials, the county website failed Tuesday night, and election results were delayed as a result of a computer problem, WKYT said.
Cliff Rodgers with the Knox County Election Commission said they experienced a “widespread denial of services attack.”
The Knox County Election Commission told WVLT that they had recorded 43 provisional ballots for all races, according to WKYT. Of those 43 ballots, 38 were classified as “green,” meaning they were submitted by people who had no record of registration. Five other provisional ballots were in question. Officials said those 43 provisional ballots would be counted Thursday by the provisional counting board.
Assuming Jacobs’ win stands, he would face Democrat Linda Haney in the general election on August 2, Sports Illustrated reported.
