A month after Michele Reneau ousted five-term incumbent Tennessee House Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, of Signal Mountain, in the District 27 Republican primary, GOP Gov. Bill Lee said he looks forward to working with the winner of November’s general election.
“We have a strong General Assembly,” Lee said in a visit to Chattanooga on Thursday. “New members, regardless of where they come from, will be someone that I look forward to meeting and starting to work with.”
Reneau, who won the August primary by fewer than 140 votes, garnered enough grassroots support to oust Hazlewood despite the incumbent outspending Reneau more than 16 to 1. Reneau will face Democrat Kathy Lennon, a former school board member, in the Nov. 5 general election.
On July 31, a day before the primary, Lee endorsed Hazlewood in a Facebook post.