UNITY UPDATE: Donut shop owner says he's facing blowback, boycott threats for serving Marsha Blackburn

Sarah D | 5:55 PM on November 06, 2018

Earlier today, Tennessee GOP Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn and members of her campaign team stopped into Gibson’s Donuts for some Election Day sweetness:

Little did she know that her hankering for a donut would be more than some lefties could stomach:

Gibson's Donuts under fire after serving Marsha Blackburn on Election Day https://t.co/thwrBGZjb8

— Commercial Appeal (@memphisnews) November 6, 2018

More from the Commercial Appeal:

After posting a picture of Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn being served breakfast at Gibson’s Donuts in East Memphis, the long-standing doughnut shop received swift and immediate backlash, and it’s still mounting according to Gibson’s owner Don DeWeese.

“So far, we’ve received over 1,200 negative emails through Facebook,” DeWeese said. That was in addition to the four broadcast news stations that showed up almost immediately to get DeWeese’s perspective.

DeWeese had nothing to apologize for … but he did anyway. And the Outrage Mob was still pissed at him:

Around lunchtime today, Gibson’s issued an apology with the clarification that they believe their shop must serve everyone who comes in wanting a treat. The post also generated further backlash, with commenters accusing Gibson’s of backpedaling.

“We are a family business, and when you open up a business — you have to serve everyone. And that’s what we want to do — black, white, rich, poor, Democrat or Republican — come on in. And as for politics, all we want is for our customers to get out and exercise their right to vote,” said DeWeese.