Ward Cammack

Gubernatorial candidate Ward Cammack says he's the only Democrat running with any sense of what direction the state needs to head.

"I'm the only candidate who has a plan," Mr. Cammack said. "I'd say to the other candidates, 'Show me the plan.'"

Mr. Cammack, a businessman from Middle Tennessee, spoke to the Southeast Tennessee Political Action Committee on Friday during a campaign stop in Chattanooga's Doubletree Hotel.

In his half-hour speech, Mr. Cammack said his leading issues are job creation and education. He noted that he has a 39-page report on his Web site that details exactly his direction for the state in coming years.

He told the audience that the economy of the United States would be shifting in a matter of years because of aging baby boomers. Tennessee's economy needs to shift as well, he said.

But he said other candidates have an advantage on him.

"My biggest obstacle is name recognition and being able to raise money," he said.

State Sen. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis and gubernatorial candidate, said Friday his campaign was in the midst of developing the Kyle Education Plan that would reform higher education. The final plan will be out in the coming months, Mr. Kyle said.

"It would mean 1,000 more college graduates in Hamilton County," he said.

State Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, and a third gubernatorial candidate, said he has "plans for Tennessee."

Asked whether plans needed to be in writing, Mr. Herron said a lot of his plans have been written.

"There's a lot of things I'm talking about in my speeches and in my memos," he said.

Democratic hopefuls former state Rep. Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville, and Mike McWherter, son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, could not be reached for comment.