Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson Endorses Bill Lee for Governor

The leader of Tennessee’s largest school district is supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, education news website Chalkbeat reported. Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said Lee would be “open-minded and solutions-oriented” on issues important to him such as “improving testing, raising teacher pay, supporting students’ social and emotional needs and adopting multiple strategies to improve public education in Tennessee.” Hopson’s endorsement is his first. Memphis reliably votes Democrat in an otherwise Republican state. However, Hopson has in recent years reached out to Republican lawmakers. He has disagreed with the Tennessee Department of Education over whether to pause the flawed TNReady testing. Lee, a businessman and farmer, touted Hopson’s support during a debate last week against his opponent Karl Dean, a Democrat and former Nashville mayor. Lee praised the Innovation Zone, a school improvement program in Shelby County Schools that has boosted test scores for students at chronically low-performing schools in impoverished neighborhoods. Hopson said Lee reached out to him to meet about a year and a half ago when Lee was considering running for governor. “We routinely discussed faith, family, government and education issues,” Hopson told Chalkbeat. “I appreciated the thoughtful and humble way that he sought my input.”…

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‘Nasty Woman’ Ashley Judd Endorses Karl ‘Marx’ Dean for Governor

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd has tweeted her endorsement of Karl Dean for Tennessee governor. The Tennessean reported the story Friday. Did you know that 54% of voters are women? We absolutely have the power to influence an election! I am so proud to endorse my friend, former Nashville Mayor @KarlFDean, in race for governor of the great state of #Tennessee. — ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) September 14, 2018 Her Tweet read, “Did you know that 54% of voters are women? We absolutely have the power to influence an election! I am so proud to endorse my friend, former Nashville Mayor @KarlFDean, in race for governor of the great state of #Tennessee.” The activist and actress is a Franklin resident and sister to country singer Wynona Judd. Judd is backing Dean because of her support for abortion and other reproductive rights, The Tennessean said. Dean said in July he was committed to maintaining access to healthcare for women when asked if he would support a bill making it harder to have abortions. This is far from Judd’s first bizarre entry into politics. In 2017 Judd slammed Donald Trump during a Women’s March on Washington, where she read a Franklin teen’s poem against the president.…

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Bill Lee Campaign Team Grows Fundraising, Communications and Grassroots Operations

Bill Lee

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee on Friday announced four new hires to his campaign team. The hires are Laine Arnold, Julie Hannah, Kim Kaegi and Joseph Williams, according to a campaign press release. They will help the campaign expand communications, fundraising and grassroots operations for the General Election on Nov. 6. Lee faces Democratic challenger Karl Dean. “We are thrilled to have all of these talented individuals join the team,” said Campaign Manager Chris Devaney. “We are building on the momentum from our victory in the primary and with these staff additions, we will have the resources and team that will (have) Bill poised to win convincingly in November.” The Lee Campaign named Arnold as Press Secretary. Previously, Arnold served as the Press Secretary for the Randy Boyd for Governor campaign and the Communications Director for Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. Arnold will manage day-to-day media relations. In addition to coalition development, Bill’s campaign conducted an expansive and aggressive grassroots campaign in the primary election. To expand on those efforts in the General Election, Hannah, former Chairwoman of the Williamson County Republican Party, is returning to assist in volunteer operations as the Special Projects & Grassroots Coordinator. Longtime Republican fundraiser Kaegi joins…

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Bill Lee Announces ‘Believe in Tennessee Tour’

Tennessee Star

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee on Wednesday announced his 95 county General Election tour. The “Believe in Tennessee Tour” will bring Lee to talk to voters and highlight his policies and belief that he is the right leader to keep Tennessee going in the right direction, his campaign said in a press release. “I’ve said throughout this campaign that Tennessee is a really good place to live, but in business, we know that good is the enemy of great,” said Lee. “For Tennessee to reach her full potential and lead the nation, we need to challenge the status quo and prioritize leadership over politics.” People have told Lee they want a good job, a good school for their kids, and they want to live in a safe neighborhood. Lee said he plans to address those challenges. He cites these statistics about Tennessee: 15 counties are below the poverty line. One in seven men between the ages of 25 and 54 has dropped out of the workforce. Opioid deaths have risen since 2012. Over 3,000 Tennesseans have died from opioid overdoses in just the last three years. Schools, which have improved over the last eight years, are still in the…

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Craig Fitzhugh Waits A Week To Endorse Karl Dean After Getting Crushed In Primary

Craig Fitzhugh, Karl Dean

State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh on Friday endorsed Karl Dean, the candidate who crushed him in the Democratic primary for the governor’s race last week, trying to show they are now best buds. Former Nashville Mayor Dean took 75.1 percent of the vote to the outgoing Democratic House minority leader’s 19.5 percent, Ballotpedia reported. Fitzhugh (D-TN-82) must have decided one week and one day was enough time to heal all wounds, as he tweeted his endorsement on Friday: “I’m all in for @KarlFDean and you should be, too. For more #jobs, higher wages, for #educators & #MedicaidExpansion—there’s only one choice. #TeamDean” A Republican leader pointed out the brittle Democratic coalition. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said in a statement, “More than a week after the primary elections, Tennessee Democrats have just now managed to get their two candidates on the same stage. Their delay stands in stark contrast to the quick unity shown by the Republican party, where all four of gubernatorial candidates came together in a strong show of support for Bill Lee just two days after his nomination. While Dean and Fitzhugh scramble to bring their supporters together, Bill Lee continues to energize Tennesseans from all walks of…

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