KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Dozens of people attended a government shutdown town hall in Knoxville on Wednesday night. The event was hosted by Democrat Michaela Barnett, who is running for Republican Representative Tim Burchett's congressional seat.

Barnett said she decided to hold the town hall after hearing concerns from people in the district.

"A few weeks ago, we had someone reach out and say, 'Hey, I've been reaching out to Rep. Burchett's office trying to get him to host a town hall,'" she said. "At that point, the shutdown had been going on for several weeks, and they hadn't gotten a response."

Her team invited Burchett to the town hall, but never received a response.

"I said this is not about my campaign. This is not about your campaign. This is an opportunity for you to come and provid

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