Tag: Grainger County GOP

Speaker Beth Harwell Keynote Speaker at Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee – The Grainger County Republican Party had an impressive turnout of about 150 people at their Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday, June 24 held in the nicely decorated Grainger County High School cafeteria, that featured Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) as the keynote speaker. Harwell was introduced by Sen. Frank Nicely (R-Strawberry Plains) during the Legislative Welcome by him and Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station).  Nicely’s comments were limited to “making everyone mad” as he put it, by saying that if she decides to run, he would be supporting Beth Harwell for governor. Speaker Harwell spoke on the three pillars of the Republican Party:  That Government is best which lives within its means; that government is best which governs least; and, that government is best which is closest to the people.  While she provided examples of where she thinks Tennessee has succeeded in those areas, the politically engaged would have plenty of material to critique in terms of Harwell omitting the recent fuel tax and fee increases of the IMPROVE Act, the backstory as to who supported or tried to subvert the legislative advances she cited, and how much work remains to fully live up to the three pillars. The agenda also…

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Gubernatorial Candidate Randy Boyd Is High Bidder For Custom Chair He Says He Will Put In The Governor’s Office

Laura Baigert

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee – Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station), owner of upholstered furniture company Sexton Furniture Manufacturing, donated a striking, custom-made chair embroidered with the Republican party elephant mascot and the words “Grainger County Republicans … Always Right” as a fund raiser for the Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner held Saturday evening. The chair was one of about two dozen items donated for the auction, intended as fund raisers for the local Republican party. The chair was the final auction item and garnered the greatest haul, with a high bid of $625 by gubernatorial candidate, Randy Boyd. When the bidding was done and as attendees slowly made their way out the doors, Boyd graciously posed for pictures. Predicting the outcomes of both the August 2018 Republican primary and the November 2018 general election, Boyd told Sexton he wanted to have the chair for the governor’s office.  

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Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett Says He’s Not Running For Governor, But Guarantees He Will Be On The Ballot In 14 Months

Laura Baigert

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee – At the Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday evening, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, invited to speak during the “Comments From 2018 Candidates and Political Guests” portion of the agenda, after joking that “These primaries make everybody nervous,” ended the suspense when he said, “I’m not running for governor.” Burchett later said, “You’ll see me on the ballot in about 14 months, I can guarantee it,” but gave no indication as to which office he would be seeking.  Burchett will be term-limited out of office as Mayor of Knox County in 2018.  There have been rumors that he has considered a run for Tennessee governor, as he has been teasing pundits that all options are on the table. Burchett’s comments immediately began speculation that he may run for either the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), or the Congressional seat currently held by Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan (R-TN-02) Gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and businessman Randy Boyd were both in attendance, as was House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) who gave the keynote address and has been rumored to be considering a primary run as the Republican candidate for…

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Mae Beavers at Grainger County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner: ‘Illegals Are Costing Us Somewhere Between $400 to $600 Million A Year’

Laura Baigert

RUTLEDGE, Tennessee — In her remarks as a gubernatorial candidate at the Grainger County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday night, Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) relayed her strong voting record against special privileges for illegal aliens, and reported that, “Illegals are costing us somewhere between $400 to $600 million a year for education, for food stamps, for housing, for all those things that we have to pick up after Catholic Charities and other organizations bring them in here.” Beavers shared that Donald Trump’s stance on illegal immigration was one of the main reasons she decided to support him for president.  She went on to be an at-large delegate for Trump, garnering more votes than any other delegate, and was later elected by the Tennessee delegation as the state’s delegation chair, an honor usually reserved for the governor of the state. In light of the recent controversy over two Metro Nashville/Davidson County ordinances that would make Nashville the most liberal sanctuary city in the United States Beavers noted that she voted for the 2009 bill that made sanctuary cities illegal in Tennessee. “That’s been in the news the past few days with Nashville and Nashville’s Mayor pushing sanctuary cities,” Beavers…

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