106 TN ‘conservative leaders’ call for Green to resume run for GOP gubernatorial nomination

A group of 106 people, describing themselves as Tennessee conservative leaders and operating under the title “Coalition 2018,” have signed a letter calling for state Sen. Mark Green of Clarksville to resume his campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination after withdrawing from consideration as President Trump’s nominee to become U.S. secretary of the Army.

The group includes tea party activists – including, for example, Nashville Tea Party President Ben Cunningham, Chattanooga Tea Party President Mark West and Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation – along with at least three current members of the state Republican Party Executive Committee and Joe Carr, a former state representative who unsuccessfully challenged Lamar Alexander in the 2014 U.S. Senate primary and Diane Black in the 2016 6th Congressional District Republican primary.

Green, who filed the paperwork for gubernatorial campaign early this year, decided against seeking U.S. Senate confirmation of his Army secretary nomination after a national criticism from some groups for remarks they interpreted as hostile toward LGBT persons and the Muslim religion – remarks notably including a taped appearance before the Chattanooga Tea Party.

Says the letter: “Throughout the nomination process, Senator Green was attacked by the likes of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Elizabeth Warren. Tennesseans disagree, because we know and share Mark’s values. We write today to urge Mark Green to resume his campaign for Governor.”
Green has so far been non-committal about resuming the race, saying only that he’s thinking about it.

(Three other legislators considering a run for governor and widely expected to announce decisions shortly after the legislative session ended — House Speaker Beth Harwell and Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris on the GOP side and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh on the Democratic side — have also maintained silence. )

Text of the letter with a list of those signing is HERE.