Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, current Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA), is working to ensure that while he works to keep or expand the number of Republican Governors across the country he doesn’t drop the ball in his home state. He’s endorsed Republican nominee Bill Lee in a new television ad purchased by the RGA.
In the ad, Haslam touts the progress that Tennessee has made during his tenure as Governor and says Bill Lee is the “right choice” to take the state to the next level. The RGA has put $500,000 behind the ad buy.
RGA ad “Right Choice” transcript:
Bill Haslam: “For eight years I’ve had the privilege of being your Governor. Together, we’ve made a lot of progress. More people have jobs than ever before. Our taxes are lower, our students are improving faster than anywhere in the country. Tennessee is stronger than ever. Bill Lee is the right choice to take Tennessee to the next level. We can trust him to make the right decisions, not the political ones. He’s been doing that his whole life. I’m asking you to join me in supporting Bill Lee for Governor.”
Ironically, much of the criticism directed at Lee’s primary competitor for the GOP nomination, Randy Boyd, focused on claims that he would simply be a continuation of the Haslam Administration, Haslam 2.0. Boyd was deemed “too moderate” by many Lee supporters who promoted their candidate as a “conservative outsider.”
During the hotly contested primary campaign, Diane Black attacked both Boyd and Lee as being “moderates.”
Now that same Lee team is enthusiastically embracing “moderate” Governor Haslam and Lee is expecting to be the beneficiary of the financial resources that can be directed towards him by the Haslam family/friends. Haslam’s chief fundraiser, Kim Kaegi, has reportedly already joined the Lee campaign.
