Tennessee governor race: Meet the candidates

Read below to find out more about who's running.

The Republican candidates for the 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial election are Diane Black, Randy Boyd, Beth Harwell and Bill Lee.

While the Republican candidates represent the same party, each have different opinions on specific issues in Tennessee.

Diane Black

Diane Black is a registered nurse, businesswoman and former educator. Black is the only Tennessee gubernatorial candidate who has served at both the state and federal political level. She believes investing in the proper education for Tennesseans is the key to getting new businesses to the state. Black is also a second amendment advocate.

Randy Boyd

Randy Boyd is a Tennessee native. He grew up in South Knoxville, and graduated from the University of Tennessee. Boyd is a businessman who gained executive state experience during Governor Haslam's term. Bringing business to Tennessee is something Boyd is very familiar with and passionate about. He is against the use of recreational marijuana and says he would only support medical marijuana if it was FDA regulated.

Beth Harwell

Beth Harwell has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Tennessee for eight years. Harwell is the only Republican gubernatorial candidate who has openly come out in favor of medical marijuana. She is also a strong supporter of the gas tax implemented by Governor Bill Haslam and believes it was the right move for Tennessee.

Bill Lee

Bill Lee was born and raised in Middle Tennessee, where he still lives as a businessman and farmer. He believes being an "outsider" is his biggest strength. Lee believes the gas tax hike implemented by Governor Haslam could have been done differently, and that using a homegrown approach with businesses in the state is the right way to go.

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Read below to find out more about who's running.

The Democratic candidates for the 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial election are Karl Dean and Craig Fitzhugh. While both candidates are running on the same political party ticket, each have different ideas for how the state should be run and what they would change in Tennessee.

Karl Dean

Karl Dean was the former mayor of Nashville and previous public defender for the area. He believes strongly in education and safety. As far as bringing big business to Tennessee, Dean says he will focus on what is best for the state and will keep the "forgotten Tennessee" in mind. Dean also says the growing lack of civility in government is something he tries to stay away from.

Craig Fitzhugh

Craig Fitzhugh is a West Tennessee native, where he has made his living as a banker. Fitzhugh has served in the Tennessee legislature for 24 years. He believes the gun laws in Tennessee can get confusing, but know how necessary they are. Fitzhugh has also voiced his support for medical marijuana in Tennessee.

Read more on the gubernatorial candidates below.

Diane Black is a Republican candidate for governor in Tennessee who has served at both the state and federal level, and she believes this is what makes her a unique contender.

“I’m the only one of the candidates that have served at both of those levels. I understand how government works, and I have connections with those that are in Washington, and that is a unique perspective,” Black says.

Black believes the key to getting new businesses here in Tennessee is investing in the proper education as a foundation.

“We can make sure we are putting career and technical education back in our schools so that we can get those good paying jobs, those manufacturing jobs, and that we’re providing them the things that they want when they take a look at moving their business that they will see Tennessee as the best place to do business,” Black explains.

Black says she is a second amendment advocate, and believes the state should focus on mental illness, so those with a mental health issue don’t end up with guns in the first place.

“So I’m going to make sure we protect our second amendment and at the same time addressing mental health illnesses and making sure that we have enough teachers and parents and counselors, even students that when they see something, they say something. If they see a change in a child’s behavior, that they are recognizing that and they are bringing it to the attention of people who could thwart an accident such as the terrible tragedies which we have seen in these schools,” Black urges.

Randy Boyd is a businessman who was raised in South Knoxville. He’s running on the Republican side for governor of Tennessee. He says he’s different from other candidates because of his forward thinking and experience.

“I believe I also have the most articulated vision. I want to make Tennessee the state of opportunity. Opportunity for better education, opportunity for better jobs, and opportunity for everyone-- and each one of those has a very specific metric," Boyd explains. "I’m also the only candidate that has executive state branch experience."

Boyd has served as Governor Haslam’s Special Advisor on Higher Education and the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. He says bringing business to the state is something he’s familiar with.

“A fey key things to know: We were able to focus on what our return investment was. We would invest in a company’s people and places. We would invest in job training, to make sure the employees got the training they needed to do those jobs. And we would invest in places, public infrastructure, and again whether the company was here or not, it helped improve Tennessee,” Boyd says.

Boyd says he does not support marijuana used recreationally and will not support it for medical purposes unless it is FDA-regulated.

“I do worry that we haven’t done the proper testing. I know there’s a lot of arguments anecdotally that it’s a good remedy in place of some other drugs but just like any other drug, it needs to go through the FDA,” Boyd urges.

Randy Boyd also believes the gas tax hike implemented by Governor Haslam was the right move for Tennessee. He says we have to invest in our infrastructure to see improvements in the long run.

"We absolutely have to invest in our infrastructure. I think Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act was good in that it put together a bundle of tax increases and decreases with a net decrease for the state," Boyd explains. "Sometimes we’ll have to balance certain taxes, but as long as the net is a decrease, I think it’s a good thing for Tennessee.”

Boyd says too often people focus on gun laws when they should be thinking about the real issue, which he believes is mental health awareness and programs.

"One of the things I want to do as governor is focus on better mental health programs across our state. As governor I’m going to make a major investment in providing the proper care for people that have drug or mental health issues,” Boyd says.

Beth Harwell has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives for eight years. She’s running on the Republican ticket and believes that her experience and track record are what set her apart from the other candidates.

“I think that instead of just promises I actually have a performance that voters can look at and I believe that I have a conservative, responsible voting record for the people of the state of Tennessee to review,” Harwell explains.

Harwell is the only Republican in the Tennessee Governor race that has come out in favor of medical marijuana.

“I have heard enough from constituents and citizens of our great state that there are legitimate forms and reasons why we would use marijuana for medical reasons." Harwell says. "I am not for recreational use but I do believe it is cruel to withhold that God-given plant to people who can benefit from it.”

The gas tax increase is something she is a supporter of, saying it is a good fit for Tennessee for multiple reasons, including more broadband access across the state.

“We need good roads. Roads plus a good education plus broadband equal good jobs for Tennessee and that’s what we all can agree on. So we put more money in our infrastructure budget for broadband. There are certain areas of our state that simply don’t have access, and we know it’s necessary not only for businesses… but also for children to do their homework. So we put grant money aside for that and I’m very proud of that," Harwell says.

Bill Lee is a Republican farmer and businessman from Middle Tennessee. He says his non-political roots are what differentiates him from his competitors in the Tennessee governor race.

“I am a true outsider. I’ve never run for office before and never worked for the government, and to me that’s a real strength. It allows me to see things from the perspective of the people we serve, and to bring in fresh ideas and new approaches,” Lee explains.

Lee believes the gas tax hike could have been done differently.

“If you don’t manage a budget in government, you raise taxes, and that’s something I don’t want to do and so I will be committing to managing a budget in a way that does allocate resources to things like transportation and infrastructure, things that we need,” Lee says.

As far as bringing big employers to the state of Tennessee, Lee believes in a homegrown approach.

“I think a job created in Tennessee is more valuable than one brought here, and so I would invest as much in starting up and supporting and incubating new businesses as I would trying to attract businesses to Tennessee. I think that’s the smartest approach,” Lee says.

Karl Dean is a Democratic candidate for governor in Tennessee, who was the previous mayor of Nashville and previous public defender for the area. He believes strongly in public education and safety.

“I have a record as mayor where I worked hard on public education during my first term when we went through the great recession and then we had the big flood in Nashville," Dean explains. "I had to make a lot of cuts in almost all parts of government but I protected education.”

With bringing big business to Tennessee, Dean says he will keep the best interest of the state in mind and focus on boosting the “forgotten Tennessee.”

“I would look at what is in the best interest of the state, but I would also focus a lot on the areas of the state that need help. Lots of parts of this state are doing great. But there are lots of small towns and rural areas and some urban areas that are struggling and we need to focus on them,” Dean says.

Dean also says the growing lack of civility in government is something he does not buy into.

“I have tried throughout my public life to treat people courteously, to focus my campaign on issues or on substantive matters and not on personality. I don’t believe in doing things that are insulting, I am practiced at working together with people to get things done. I believe in compromise. I believe in collaboration, and I think we can accomplish great things for this state,” Dean explains.

Craig Fitzhugh is a banker from West Tennessee who has served in the Tennessee legislature for 24 years. He’s running on the Democratic ticket for governor, and thinks his knowledge is what sets him apart from the other candidates.

“I think the prior experience I have plus what I’ve done in my life experiences are a little broader than my opponent,” Fitzhugh says.

As far as gun laws go, Fitzhugh believes there are so many that it can get confusing, but understands the need for restrictions.

“But the fact of the matter is that guns are something that we have to be very careful with so we are always going to be legislating as far as that goes, but the big problem with guns now is to have safe schools and that’s gonna probably take some more laws and I’m certainly for those to make our schools safe,” Fitzhugh explains.

Fitzhugh is also for the legalization of medical marijuana.

“I am for, certainly for the legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes. I think if it’s recommended by a doctor, it’s regulated, it’s taxed, we ought to do it because we know it helps,” Fitzhugh urges.