Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee finished his tour of all 95 of Tennessee’s counties in 95 days on Friday in Putnam County.
“It has been a thrill to visit every county and listen to Tennesseans in every corner of our state,” the Williamson County businessman said in a statement released by his campaign.
“Maria and I have many individual highlights on this specific tour, but mostly, it is getting to meet folks from so many different walks of life. Our state is very diverse, but we have so much that connects us. What I’ve consistently heard throughout this tour is that folks want a good job, a great education for their kids and a safe neighborhood to live in. Those are my goals and that is why I’m running for governor,” Lee added.
Lee announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in Nashville on April 24. He began his 95 county tour that day on a bus emblazoned with the Bill Lee for Governor logo with its grey and orange colors. Since then, Lee. his staff, and volunteers, have driven the bus for 356 hours over 16,403 miles of Tennessee’s roads and highways, his campaign says.
The tour, his campaign said, included:
288 – Total Stops
1,873 – Gallons of Fuel
46 – Local GOP Events Attended
18 – BBQ Meals
30 – Stops with Law Enforcement and/or Military
16 – Agricultural Stops
7 – Counties with at least five different stop dates
“While on the tour, Bill announced the first major policy initiative of the 2018 campaign, unveiling his Roadmap for Rural Tennessee, a set of policy initiatives to preserve the way of life in rural Tennessee and address some of the most pressing issues facing the region,” the Lee campaign said in its statement:
The roadmap is organized around four major calls to action:
Promote the dignity of work and economic independence.
Support innovation and technology to improve economic, health and educational opportunities.
Attack the epidemic of opioid abuse and addiction.
Strengthen our state’s commitment to faith, community, and family.
“To show his commitment to rural communities and to discuss his plan with those most impacted by it, Bill will begin a statewide tractor tour of Tennessee in August,” the Lee campaign said.
[…] Lee, another businessman seeking the Republican nomination for Governor, conducted a 95 county bus tour in his RV when he launched his campaign. Lee followed that tour up with a tractor tour across the […]