Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Tennessee GOP jabs and smacks: 2018 governor’s race primary heats up

Businessman Bill Lee, left, speaks a Republican candidate for Tennessee governor, speaks at a fundraiser in Franklin, Tenn., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. To his right are fellow candidates House Speaker Beth Harwell, U.S. Rep. Diane Black and state Sen. Mae Beavers. With the field largely set, some of the candidates have begun taking aim at each other in public appearances. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)
Businessman Bill Lee, left, speaks a Republican candidate for Tennessee governor, speaks at a fundraiser in Franklin, Tenn., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. To his right are fellow candidates House Speaker Beth Harwell, U.S. Rep. Diane Black and state Sen. Mae Beavers. With the field largely set, some of the candidates have begun taking aim at each other in public appearances. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Businessman Bill Lee, left, speaks a Republican candidate for Tennessee governor, speaks at a fundraiser in Franklin, Tenn., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. To his right are fellow candidates House Speaker Beth Harwell, U.S. Rep. Diane Black and state Sen. Mae Beavers. With the field largely set, some of the candidates have begun taking aim at each other in public appearances. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

By Andy Sher 5 min read

NASHVILLE – A year out from Tennessee Republicans’ 2018 gubernatorial primary, the sharp elbows already are in play.

As four of the five major GOP hopefuls appeared together at a Sunday forum in Franklin, Tenn., the latest official entrant, U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., praised President Donald Trump, castigated congressional Republicans as “weak” and ineffectual and then tried to lump Tennessee Republican officials in with them.

“We can find Republicans who are too weak or too meek right here in Nashville as well,” the Gallatin congresswoman told hundreds of attendees at state Sen. Jack Johnson’s annual “Boots & Jeans, BBQ & Beans” event on Sunday.

Black added that “the people of Tennessee did not give us a majority to be meek. They made us the majority so we could do what we say we can do. And that’s the job of our next governor. To lead this state in a way with a firm hand and a strong spine. And that’s what the state of Tennessee needs is a strong leader.”

Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, a Nashville Republican and gubernatorial candidate, who also attended the event, wasn’t amused.