Guber campaign money: Boyd sets new record for self-financing (Lee and Black close behind)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd has set a new record for self-financing in a Tennessee political campaign, a review of financial disclosures filed this week shows. Williamson County businessman Bill Lee has also clearly passed U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s old record and Diane Black has roughly matched it.
Randy Boyd’s fourth TV commercial
Press release from Randy Boyd campaign
Nashville, Tenn. – Randy Boyd, Republican candidate for Governor, launched his fourth campaign commercial “K to J” (Kindergarten to Job) which highlights Boyd’s commitment to education and better preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow.
PAC airs second radio ad attacking ‘dishonest Diane Black’
A political action committee funded by millionaire businessman Joe Hollingsworth of Clinton is airing a second radio commercial attacking “dishonest Diane Black” as a gubernatorial candidate, reports Tennessee Star.
The latest 60 second radio ad from a group called Tennessee Jobs Now PAC (TnJobsNow.com) is airing on several stations across the state and follows up on an ad campaign in January that featured a man and woman talking about “Dishonest Diane” directing state contracts to her husband’s company while flushing money down the toilet — to keep Diane Black from getting her hands on it.
GOP gubernatorial candidates differ — or dodge — on Trump’s gun law proposals
Excerpt from a story by the AP’s Jonathan Mattise:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In gun-friendly Tennessee, President Donald Trump’s ideas to ban bump stocks and bar people under 21 from buying semi-automatic guns have put the leading GOP candidates for governor in a tough spot. In response, they have mostly avoided taking firm stances.
GOP joshing: When Bob Corker, Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black broke heaven’s rules…
Excerpt from Jackson Baker’s report on “some interesting deviations in party harmony” at the Shelby County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day event Saturday:
A couple of them came from the event’s keynote speaker, U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who told an odd joke that was probably meant affectionately but came off, no doubt inadvertently, as seeming to be at the expense of U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who had introduced him and whom Scott had acknowledged to be a friend.
Boyd company gets third TN base in minor league baseball management
Boyd Sports, owned by Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, is taking over management of the Greeneville Reds. It will be the third minor league baseball team in Tennessee to have an agreement with the Knoxville company, reports the Greeneville Sun.
In TN governor’s race, all Republicans love Trump and Democrats aren’t bashing him
Responding to questions from WPLN’s Chas Sisk, major Republican candidates for governor all expressed support for President Donald Trump and even the two Democrats are not bashing him – a striking contrast, it’s noted, to the way things were in Tennessee politics when Barack Obama was president.
Boyd spends $500K on TV ad running during Olympics
Press release from Randy Boyd campaign
Nashville, Tenn. — Just in time for the Olympics, Randy Boyd, Republican candidate for Governor, released a new ad entitled “Grit” highlighting the American Dream and his rise from factory worker and first-generation college student to successful entrepreneur and founder of Radio Systems Corporation.
The $500,000 statewide broadcast and cable TV buy will air on Friday, Feb. 9 during the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and will continue through the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday, Feb. 25….
Of six gubernatorial candidates, only Harwell supports removing governor from UT board
House Speaker Beth Harwell supports Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to reduce the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees from 26 to 11 members – including elimination of the governor as a board member, according to a Victor Ashe column. But five other major candidates for governor want to have a seat on the board if elected.
Randy Boyd, Craig Fitzhugh, Bill Lee and Diane Black all said they thought the governor should be a board member and they would actively attend meetings as governor. Karl Dean said he would actively attend meetings but did not respond to the question of whether the law should be amended to remove the governor.
Gubernatorial candidates talk on local control versus legislature
Excerpt from the Times-Free Press report on a gubernatorial candidate forum Thursday:
In response to a question about cities’ and towns’ complaints about the General Assembly’s propensity to wade into their operations on issues like guns in public parks, removal of Confederate statues and education, (Democrat Craig) Fitzhugh said, “I believe in local control” and put the blame on the Republican-run Legislature.
“It seemed to me that for many years, the Republican view was the best government was at the local level, but here recently at the Legislature, the majority party has taken it upon themselves to sort of get into cities’ business and counties’ business on various things. I think they had it right the first time.”
