Three of the four Democratic candidates running in the May primary for U.S. House District 8 were represented in Knox County over the weekend.

Mary Allen and Tabitha Ziegler attended the local “No Kings” rally on Saturday and later an event featuring speaker Robert Arnold.

Allen said she wants to rebuild trust with voters, citing concerns she heard during a recent listening session with young voters. “The core of what kept coming back around was that they don’t trust politicians,” Allen said. “Many of them haven’t voted because they feel like it’s futile. I asked, ‘Do you trust politicians?’ and it was no, no, no. But one of them said, ‘I want to.’ So we need to give them reason to.”

Ziegler said her campaign focuses on advocacy for people with disabilities and veterans. “I want them to know that I’m a humanist, which means I’m a progressive. I care about people,” Ziegler said. “I’m the mother of three kids with autism, and I’ve been an autism and disability advocate for a long time. Most of my family was in the military. I care about making sure that when veterans come home, they have services that will take care of them.”

A third candidate, Christopher Rector, did not attend but submitted a statement. He said his campaign is focused on change, pointing to rising costs for everyday needs as a key concern. Rector said he would push for funding to support universal child care and health care by redirecting federal spending and called on voters to take an active role in protecting democracy.

A fourth Democratic candidate, Mario Foradori, was invited but did not attend.

All four candidates are running in the May 5 primary. The winner will advance to the November ballot to face incumbent Republican Mark Messmer, who is unopposed in the primary. Independent candidate James Burke is also running in the District 8 race.