Ketron: Lee is ‘good man’ to lead Tenn. for 8 years
State Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) speaks on the Senate floor on Feb. 26, 2018. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
State Sen. Bill Ketron says he expects Franklin businessman Bill Lee to lead Tennessee for the next two gubernatorial terms.
Ketron, who is running for Rutherford County mayor, made the comments about Lee at a campaign town hall on Tuesday. Ketron is the Senate Republican Caucus chairman, the same position that gubernatorial candidate Diane Black held before she was elected to Congress in 2010.
“You have a good man here that I feel, in my personal opinion, that will lead us for the next eight years: Bill Lee,” Ketron said at the event.
Ketron noted that there will be a vast reduction in institutional memory given the raft of retirements in the General Assembly. He told Lee he could take advantage of that “void.”
“Now’s a great time for you to come in. Fresh ideas. Push back on those bureaucrats, our state employees — all due respect, but they get entrenched. So now’s a great time for you to come in and do what’s best for this state.”
Lee Beaman endorses Diane Black
Conservative auto dealer Lee Beaman is endorsing U.S. Rep. Diane Black’s Republican bid for governor.
“There is only one true conservative in the race and her name is Diane Black,” Beaman said in a release. “Diane will fight to protect and defend out Tennessee values. She will be an advocate for Tennessee businesses of all sizes, and she will always fight for families and the unborn. With Diane leading the way, we can become the most business friendly state in the nation while keeping our values intact.”
Black said cited Beaman’s role in fighting public transit proposals in Nashville as a sign that “when he gets behind something, everyone better move out of the way. He is a stalwart fighter for the conservative cause who never waivers in his conviction.”
Campaign finance records show Beaman gave Black’s campaign $8,000 on July 19.
U.S. Rep. Cooper endorses Dean for governor
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Nashville) is endorsing former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s bid for governor.
Cooper joins fellow U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) and former U.S. Reps. Lincoln Davis and Bob Clement in giving the nod to Dean’s bid against state House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
“Karl Dean was a great Mayor. Successful mayors have what it takes to get things done for the whole state as Governor. He is committed to healthcare, jobs, and education for ALL Tennesseans, and I’m proud to endorse him,” Cooper said in a release.
Commercial Appeal urges voters to send Tate packing
“Why does a man who represents Parkway Village, Hickory Hill and tiny parts of Germantown and Collierville feel compelled to attend conferences in Alaska and Rhode Island?” the editorial asks. “Why does a man who represents a primarily African-American, Democratic district go to so many meetings of the American Legislative Exchange Conference, which promotes a conservative Republican agenda?
“Why does a Memphis state senator spend so much of his time and our money on the road? Tate clearly enjoys travel. District 33 voters should send him packing.”
Harwell appears on Fox News
.@BethHarwellTN: "We've been able to do here in Tennessee under my leadership as speaker what @POTUS is trying to do for America. We've lowered taxes for all Tennesseans. We're the lowest debt state in the nation. And we have ended sanctuary cities." pic.twitter.com/soL1vYuZXg
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 29, 2018
Beth Harwell appeared on Fox News over the weekend to promote her Republican gubernatorial bid and to liken herself to President Donald Trump.
“We’ve been able to do here in Tennessee under my leadership as speaker what president Trump is trying to do for America,” she said. “We’ve lowered taxes for all Tennesseans, we’re the lowest-taxed state in the national. We have ended sanctuary cities. And so of course we have a lot in common, but I believe I have the proven performance and the results that conservatives in the state of Tennessee want.”
Harwell also downplayed the significance of Pence’s recent reiteration of his endorsement of Diane Black in the race.
“I certainly understand Congressman Black has a lot of support in Washington, D.C. She’s been there for quite some time. And I, on the other hand, have always kept my eyes focused on the great state of Tennessee,” she said. “I believe that President Trump is right: If we’re going to solve our problems, our domestic problems, it wont’ happen in Washington, D.C., it will happen here in Tennessee. And I am ready to be right person to serve in the governorship.”
Corker, Alexander attend Blackburn fundraiser in D.C.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker tours Mars Petcare on Aug. 22, 2017. (Photo credit: Corker Senate office.)
Republican Tennessee Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander attended a fundraiser for Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign in Washington, according to a Victor Ashe column in the Knoxville Shopper.
Corker’s attendance is notable because of his tepid support for Blackburn to date. He has said he will not campaign against Democrat Phil Bredesen, who he has described as “someone I’ve been friends with and worked with.”
Blackburn’s Knox County headquarters will be located on Western Avenue, Ashe wrote.
Johnson City Press endorses Lee, Fitzhugh
The Johnson City Press is endorsing Republican Bill Lee and Democrat Craig Fitzhugh in the gubernatorial primary.
“On the right, Lee is checking all the right boxes for traditional Republican voters — Second Amendment protections, limited government, business acumen and tough immigration policy to name a few — while also presenting creative solutions in such areas as education and criminal justice. As Lee’s standing has risen in the polls, he predictably has become the target of attack ads, but he wisely has stayed largely above the fray,” according to the paper.
The paper praised Fitzhugh for knowing “state government inside and out” from his 12 years as a state lawmaker.
After the Boyd marathon comes the sprint
Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd speaks to reporters in Belle Meade on July 25, 2018. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Having already run across the state, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd is announcing a 95-hour “sprint to election day.” The former economic and community development commissioner plans 20 public events across the state leading up to his primary night party in his hometown of Knoxville on Thursday.
“The early vote is in. And now the biggest day is only hours away – It’s rally time! The team that finishes the strongest down the stretch will win, and I pledge to give it everything I’ve got these last few days,” said Randy Boyd.
Lee mailer: ‘Good thing he’s a master plumber’
Bill Lee’s latest campaign mailer says his Republican opponents are throwing the “kitchen sink” at him. The mailer’s retort: “Good thing he’s a master plumber.” The piece then goes on to list Lee’s bona fides as they relate to guns, abortion, and sanctuary cities.
Feels like somehow they missed an opportunity to say something about how he’s uniquely qualified to unclog the drain of the Nashville swamp…
Trump endorses Kustoff in 8th District
U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Memphis) got a coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump in his Republican primary against self-funding George Flinn. And an ad is already in the can.
The Commercial Appeal in an unusually scathing editorial urges Democratic primary voters to cast state Sen. Reginald Tate (D-Memphis) out of office. The editorial focuses on Tate’s more than 70 out-of-state trips, his caustic remarks about fellow Democrats, and his propensity to side with Republicans in the name of pragmatism.
The editorial notes that Tate took a five-day tour of Europe, “five-day tour of Europe he took in 2011, all expenses paid by Andy Miller, Nashville millionaire, and leader of the right-wing, anti-Muslim Tennessee Freedom Coalition.”
Tate faces Katrina Robinson in Thursday’s Democratic primary. She has been endorsed by incumbent Memphis Sens. Sara Kyle and Lee Harris.