Williamson County businessman Bill Lee won the Tennessee Republican gubernatorial primary Thursday night in a blowout victory.
Read the full storyBill Lee Wins GOP Gubernatorial Primary in Blowout Victory
Day: August 2, 2018
BREAKING: Bill Lee Takes Early Lead in GOP Gubernatorial Primary [UPDATES]
UPDATE: at 10:10pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 284,085 votes Randy Boyd – 189,276 Diane Black – 177,737 Beth Harwell – 118,755 UPDATE: at 9:43pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 258,773 votes Randy Boyd – 170,946 Diane Black – 157,725 Beth Harwell – 100,989 UPDATE: at 9:15pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 250,763 votes Randy Boyd – 165,869 Diane Black – 151,852 Beth Harwell – 97,839 UPDATE: at 8:58pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 235,686 votes Randy Boyd – 158,007 Diane Black – 141,670 Beth Harwell – 92,132 UPDATE: at 8:37pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 205,224 votes Randy Boyd – 139,650 Diane Black – 122,040 Beth Harwell – 80,001 UPDATE: at 8:22pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill Lee – 176,059 votes Randy Boyd – 121,121 Diane Black – 103,434 Beth Harwell – 69,729 Here is the scene at the Bill Lee Election Night party: UPDATE: at 8:11pm The raw vote totals are as follows: Bill…
Read the full storyMarsha Blackburn Launches Senate General Election Campaign with Series of Events in Middle Tennessee
Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is hitting the road hard on Primary Election Day to generate the enthusiasm and energy she is needing to propel her to a win over Democrat Phil Bredesen in their November U.S. Senate race. Blackburn started the day with a morning breakfast at the City Cafe in Brentwood with about 237 supporters, including Governor Bill Haslam, State Senator Jack Johnson, Williamson County Sheriff Bill Long, County Mayor Rogers Anderson, and several other local officials, party activists and community leaders. The packed crowd heard Governor Haslam point out that the race against Bredesen won’t just determine whether New York Senator Chuck Schumer gets another vote closer to running the Senate, but could clearly impact the future confirmation of conservative, Constitutionalist federal judges and Justices to the Supreme Court. Haslam also noted that if the Democrats are able to take control of the Senate, thanks to the votes of prospective Senators like Phil Bredesen, it also means a change in Committee Chairs in the Senate. “Phil Bredesen in the Senate could mean liberal Diane Feinstein replacing Chuck Grassley as Chair of the Judiciary Committee, making it almost impossible to have conservative judicial appointments get a hearing much less…
Read the full storyMarsha Blackburn: Democrat Mark Brown Cursing ‘Reveals The True Nature of What They Think About Trump Voters’
Republican U.S. Sen. candidate Marsha Blackburn spoke Tuesday with Charles Payne on Fox Business about the “incivility crisis” in America, especially as incited by the Tennessee Democratic Party against Trump supporters. You can watch the interview here. Payne asked U.S. Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07) about comments made by Mark Brown, a Tennessee Democratic Party communications official who is serving as spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. candidate Phil Bredesen, a former governor. “We know that there was a comment about “F— reaching out to Trump voters,” by the candidate and spokesman himself, calling them ‘idiots,’” Payne asked Blackburn. “This is remarkable. Right now, your campaign is on center stage. The whole country is watching. In fact, many think it may actually determine the outcome of power in Washington, D.C., in November. Can you believe this?” Blackburn said, “We were very, we were stunned to hear this, but you know what Charles? It reveals the true nature of what they think and how they think about Trump voters, and through his spokesman, Phil Bredesen is revealing this, and of course, it was bad enough when his friend Hillary Clinton, who he gave $33,400 to, called us all deplorables, and now we’re hearing they think we’re morons…
Read the full storySen. Lamar Alexander Commentary: GOP Accomplishments
by Senator Lamar Alexander When I travel across Tennessee some people say, “I sure am glad I don’t have your job.” My answer is always, “I’m also glad you don’t have my job because I like my job, and I thank you for it.” And then someone will say, “Why don’t you guys ever do anything? What difference does a Republican majority make?” My answer is to hand them my Republican accomplishments card – a scorecard that lists what President Trump and a Republican Congress have been able to accomplish in the last 18 months. Best economy in 18 years, the biggest tax reform in 31 years, military support is the strongest it has been in 15 years, numerous regulations have been repealed, one confirmed Supreme Court justice and another Supreme Court nominee, 23 conservative U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed, opened up Alaska to energy development after 38 years. We have a new National Labor Relations Board. We repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty, repealed Dodd-Frank mortgage rules, passed legislation to improve veterans’ health care, and passed sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea. All of this in the last 18 months – the most important accomplishments by a conservative government in…
Read the full storyWay Down Yonder in Maury County
Every budget tells a story—about your spending plan, priorities, goals, and financial health. What story are you telling your community about the importance of public education in your community? We understand that it is an election year and politics are driving the debate.
Read the full storyEXCLUSIVE: The 202 Year Ratification Saga of the 27th Amendment
Gregory Watson has been recognized by historians, academics, and elected officials as the only individual in American history whose singular efforts are responsible for the ratification of an amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Watson has provided this first hand account of his successful efforts to persuade state legislatures across the country to ratify the 27th amendment exclusively to The Tennessee Star. For me, the journey of amending the United States Constitution in 1992 really started some 14 years earlier in 1978. During that summer, my family moved over 1,000 miles from Michigan to Texas. I was age 16 at the time and I still had the final two years of high school ahead of me to complete. While sharing a border with Dallas, the suburb of Mesquite, Texas, was not connected with Dallas’ public transit service. Although of legal age to obtain a driver’s license, since I did not have access to a vehicle, I was unable to travel from Point A to Point B and had to seek other ways to achieve intellectual stimulation during those two years of residency in Mesquite. After graduating from Mesquite High School in May of 1980, I relocated to Austin…
Read the full storyKasich Warns Of Widespread Fentanyl, Warns Users They Are ‘Playing With The Devil’
by Steve Birr Authorities in Ohio are cracking down on drug dealers trafficking in the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl with harsher legal penalties as synthetic overdose deaths continue rising. Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Wednesday that reclassifies fentanyl from a Schedule II to a Schedule I substance and makes it a felony for dealing the potent painkiller. Major drug offenders caught selling fentanyl will now face mandatory minimum sentences ranging from between three to eight years, reports Cincinnati.com. The bill also prevents charges from being combined, meaning a dealer tied to a fentanyl death would face charges for both the fatality and for the initial sale to the victim. Fentanyl is implicated in the majority of drug deaths in the state. In Hamilton County, more than 90 percent of drugs tested between January and April 2018 contained a synthetic opioid. “It ain’t the way it used to be with street drugs,” said Kasich, according Cincinnati.com. “You’re playing with the devil.” Data released by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 11 reveals the majority of opioid-linked deaths throughout the U.S. are now the result of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The report shows synthetic opioids killed roughly 27,000 people across…
Read the full storyThumbs Up: Florida Candidate for Governor, DeSantis Ad Displays Him as More Likable, Less Political
During Tuesday’s broadcast of The Gill Report – live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill praised Florida Governor Candidate Ron DeSantis for his current ad appealing to the public in a more human than political way. DeSantis’s wife narrates the advertisement accompanied by their children who appear along with their father DeSantis. He continued: I mentioned in the last segment that there is a great new television commercial airing in Florida for Ron DeSantis whose running for Governor. A conservative Republican he’s been endorsed by President Trump. Well they have a spot that is well featuring his wife Casey talking about Ron DeSantis and their kids and that he’s so much more than just a Trump supporter and he shows it in the way he plays with his kids, reads with his kids, and teachers them. CASEY DeSANTIS: Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump but he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids. Build the wall. He reads stories, then Mr. Trump says your fired! I love that part. He’s teaching Madison to talk. Make America great again. People say Ron’s…
Read the full storyLetter to the Editor: Corinthia Elder Gets Her Facts Straight
Dear Tennessee Star, In Dennis Pearson’s June 18 letter to the editor in The Leaf Chronicle (Clarksville), he claims to be a “Ronald Reagan Republican.” It seems he has forgotten one of President Reagan’s most famous quotes. To Reagan supporters, it is known as “the 11th Commandment.” It simply says, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” In his 1990 autobiography “An American Life,” Reagan said he followed this rule since 1968 during his first run for California governor. He said it served him well throughout his often tumultuous political life. Corinthia Elder is the Republican nominee to be Montgomery County’s next trustee by virtue of winning the May 1 primary. However, she’s getting support from independents and Democrats across the county because voters know and trust her. They know the “content of her character.” Pearson’s comments were wrapped up in his endorsement of “independent” candidate, Kimberly Wiggins. She’s only an “independent” because she was not eligible to run as a Republican since she has never voted in a GOP primary during her 10 years here. If one looks at her voting record, it shows she’s voted in three Democratic primaries. Interesting, that she chooses to run as…
Read the full storyThe Tennessean Endorses Howard Jones Over Brenda Gilmore in State Senate Race to Fill Thelma Harper Seat
The race to fill the vacancy in Senate District 19 created by Senator Thelma Harper’s retirement is heating up. The two front runners in the Democratic Primary, State Representative Brenda Gilmore and Pastor and educator Howard Jones, are locked in a dead heat according to many political observers in the district. A recent Tennessee Tribune/Tennessee Star poll, conducted by Triton Polling from July 13-16, showed Gilmore leading in the race but that the high number of undecideds meant the race was “wide open.” In that poll, Gilmore received support from 37.5%, Jones 12.5% and 46% undecided. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gil noted at the time that with Gilmore already representing a large portion of the Senate district, and with the high name recognition that she has due to her political involvement for two decades as a Metro Council member and state legislator, combined with the visibility of her daughter, Metro Councilwoman Erica Gilmore, the relatively low level of support signaled danger for Gilmore. “She has many of the advantages of an incumbent,” Gill said, “and any incumbent polling at that level should be very, very worried.” Since that poll, Jones has received the endorsement of Senator Harper, who has represented…
Read the full storyMark Skoda Commentary: Diane Black for Governor
Over the years, I have observed Diane Black support pro-life issues, our 2nd Amendment gun rights and more recently, President Trump. Her conservative bona fides are clear reasons for this endorsement. Her experience and tenacity in the face of vocal opposition are what we need in Tennessee’s next gubernatorial term. During her tenure as a Congressman, I have watched as Diane worked to ensure that conservative ideas were given voice. Her pro-life support and her stance on the importance of the family as the fundamental building block of society are well known. She submitted her first bill as a Congressman to overturn funding to Planned Parenthood and has continued that effort fighting for the Defund Planned Parenthood Act. When it comes to healthcare, Diane, a nurse, is well versed in legislative issues related to healthcare and its impact on people. She also recognizes the importance to Tennessee both as a function of quality of life for Tennesseans generally and the business environment in particular. She has been a steadfast opponent of Obamacare and worked to eliminate certain elements of that law that saved taxpayers over $13 billion dollars. More recently, Congressman Black has served on the House Ways and Means…
Read the full storyGeneration Z: The Intolerant Ones
by Ben Cohen The post-millennials have arrived. As the oldest millennials turn 37, demographers have designated a new generation for those born after 1996, Generation Z. The oldest members of this cohort just graduated from college and had their first (legal) alcoholic beverages. As they wind their way through college, post-millennials will change higher education, just as previous generations did. Generation Z is racially diverse, increasingly secular, and very much online. Non-Hispanic whites make up just over half of this cohort, compared with 72 percent of Baby Boomers. In religious terms, 13 percent of Generation Z identifies as atheist, compared with only 7 percent of millennials. And according to a 2015 Pew report, 92 percent of teens access the internet daily and 73 percent have access to a smartphone. Born in 1997 or later, Generation Z was too young to form a coherent memory of the September 11th terror attacks. They have no memory of a pre-9/11 world or a time when the U.S. didn’t have a military presence in Afghanistan. Many are too young to remember a time before smartphones. Apple released the iPhone in 2007, and by 2012, more than half of all Americans owned a smartphone. The members of this generation have different problems: they’re…
Read the full storyReligious Organizations: Take the Hillsdale Option
by Jenna Suchyta I am tired of hearing Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission hailed as a “victory” for religious liberty; it was no such thing—unless we’re also going to start counting forfeits and rain delays as wins. Masterpiece was a bunt, and not a very promising one at that. Although the outcome of the decision was in favor of Jack Phillips, the Christian baker in Colorado who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, the reasoning of the decision was mostly based on the hostility that Phillips faced from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. If proponents of religious liberty unwittingly allow this false sense of security to pervade their thinking, they run the risk of being caught by surprise in later cases, like this one in Michigan to be discussed later. In the Masterpiece case, the Supreme Court very clearly refused to make a ruling on religious exemptions to discrimination law and public accommodations law. “The delicate question,” Justice Kennedy writes in the majority opinion, “of when the free exercise of his religion must yield to an otherwise valid exercise of state power needed to be determined in an adjudication in which religious hostility on the part of the State itself would not be a…
Read the full storyCommentary: Mr. President, The Ramifications of a Shutdown Are All Good
by CHQ Staff President Donald Trump vowed again Tuesday to shut down the federal government in September if the Democrats don’t give him the $25 billion for his border wall, declaring “I don’t care what the political ramifications are.” “Our immigration laws and border security have been a complete and total disaster for decades — and there is no way that the Democrats will allow it to be fixed without a government shutdown,” the president said in a pair of tweets reported by our friend Todd Beaman of NewsMax: “A government shutdown is a very small price to pay for a safe and Prosperous America,” Trump said. As we reported in our article Jim Jordan Gets It: Build The Wall Or Lose The GOP Majority the president first threatened a shutdown on Sunday, saying that Democrats needed to back his immigration reform package, which included the wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. But as we explained, it is not the Democrats that are the problem; it’s the Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. According to reporting by The Hill’s Scott Wong and Juliegrace Brufke, Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell want Republicans…
Read the full storyGOP Gubernatorial Candidates Plan Election Night Parties as Bitter Battle Comes Down to Final Day
As The Tennessee Star reported Wednesday, the gubernatorial candidates have engaged in a venue-filled, final days sprint across the state to rally votes for today’s primary. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Candidate schedules, in no particular order, are: Beth Harwell Beth Harwell announced she will hold a watch party at 6:30 p.m. CT tonight at ThreeOneThree Facilities, 701 Murfreesboro Pike in Nashville. More information is here. Harwell’s campaign website is here. Diane Black Diane Black’s campaign announced she will host a watch party tonight. The party will be at the Symphony Ballroom of Loews Hotel in Nashville at 6:30 p.m. CT. The address is 2100 West End Ave. To RSVP, email [email protected]. Her campaign website is here. Black’s Facebook page is here. Black released the record-high amount of voter contact conducted by her campaign. Her team has knocked on 503,186 doors and made 460,806 phone calls in all 95 counties, according to a press release. Bill Lee Bill Lee planned to start Election Day in Spencer from 11-11:30 a.m. The address is 179 Veterans Square, the Old Courthouse. Van Buren County was his campaign’s first-ever stop. Lee will hold an Election Night Party at 6:30 p.m. CT…
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