“The devil’s favorite demon” officially has a new title: Mayor of Knox County.
Former WWE champion Glenn Jacobs — who is best known as the professional wrestler Kane — declared victory on Thursday night in the Tennessee mayoral race.
His longtime employer released a statement online, congratulating the 7-foot-tall conservative.
“Kane came away with a strong political victory following a narrow victory in the primary election two months ago,” WWE said, noting how the win capped “a path to office that began over a year ago.”
Speaking to his campaign team after the results came in, the “Big Red Machine” reportedly thumbed his nose up at doubters — many of whom scolded him for his wrestling background.
“There are some people who were not with me at all,” Jacobs explained.
“When I announced that I was going to run for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, unfortunately among the political establishment, it was met with pretty resounding laughter that a professional wrestler could think that he could [win],” he said. “And then, the great thing was, this professional wrestler got into a no-holds-barred, last man standing match — and when the bell rung, he was victorious.”
Jacobs was ahead of Democratic nominee Linda Haney by a 2-to-1 margin when he was declared mayor on Thursday night. The victory came after a hard-fought win in the Republican primary, which saw him skate by with a margin of just 17 votes.
The 51-year-old wrestler isn’t the first WWE superstar to make the jump to politics.
Jesse “The Body” venture served as a Minnesota mayor before eventually becoming the state’s governor in 1998. He famously stepped into the squared circle while in office, though it’s unclear if Jacobs plans to do the same. The 300-pound behemoth has hinted at it.
“I may still do a few special things [with WWE],” Jacobs told reporters prior to his victory.
“I’ve done it for 23 years now and have quite a history, it’ll always be part of my life,” he said. “I’m sure some people will say that (I’m not focused) and some others will say that’s the coolest thing ever…Again, you can’t make everyone happy. You just do what you can and that’s it.”
Source: New York Post
