NASHVILLE - As his supporters and family rallied under a blistering July sun several weeks ago, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Lee was brushing aside attacks launched at him by his GOP primary opponents.
"The attacks mean people are nervous; they're concerned," the 58-year-old Franklin businessman and political newcomer declared of his main rivals. "They see the momentum. They know what's happening in the polls, and I'm committed to staying positive."
And Lee, the self-styled "outsider," largely did just that, although he sometimes used a little political jiu-jitsu.
Last week, Tennessee Republican voters rewarded self-styled "conservative outsider" and "man of faith" Lee, giving him a nearly 37 percent share of the GOP primary vote in his battle with U.S. Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin, Knoxville entrepreneur Randy Boyd and state House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville.
He
