NASHVILLE – Republican Diane Black struck the first open blow in Tennessee’s GOP gubernatorial primary Wednesday, going up on the air with a statewide television ad charging that two of her top campaign rivals are too “moderate.”
The 30-second spot is the first attack ad by an actual campaign in the 2018 Republican contest. It comes a little more than two weeks before Tennesseans begin going to the polls on July 13 for early voting in Aug. 2 state primary contests.
With some campaigns’ internal polls showing a tighter contest, the ad seeks to raise questions among Republican voters about Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd, a former state economic commissioner, and businessman Bill Lee of Franklin.
And it very well could set off a television-ad air war among at least three of the four major candidates.
The Black campaign ad begins by touting the National Rifle Association’s recent endorsement of Black, a four-term congressman from Gallatin, Tennessee.