The Tennessee Republican Party announced Ron DeSantis, Florida governor and presidential candidate, as the keynote speaker for the group’s 46th annual Statesmen’s Dinner next month.
The event is scheduled for July 15 at the Music City Center in Nashville.
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U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner. The dinner will be held Saturday, June 15 at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The dinner chairman is attorney and businessman Andy Puzder. Young is chairman of the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee), which bills itself as “the only national organization solely devoted to strengthening the Republican Senate Majority and electing Republicans to the United States Senate.” Young, in a press release from the Tennessee Republican Party, said, “I’m looking forward to joining Tennessee Republicans at the 2019 Statesmen’s Dinner. As Democrats continue to push a radical, far-left agenda, it’s critical that we elect candidates who will safeguard our cherished freedoms and support the policies that have our economy booming. As Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, I’m looking forward to working with Tennesseans to strengthen our Republican Senate majority and protect our conservative values.” Young serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Foreign Relations; Commerce, Science & Transportation; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship, according to his biography. He is a graduate of Annapolis and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. His private sector experience includes a former stint at…
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Former Tennessee Governor Winfield Dunn was the recipient Thursday of the Howard Baker Award at the annual Statesmen’s Dinner held by the Tennessee Republican Party. The fundraising event took place at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. The keynote speaker was Vice President Mike Pence. Dunn, 90, served as governor from 1971 to 1975, and was the first Republican elected to the office in 50 years. He was born and raised in Mississippi but later moved to Memphis, where he became a dentist. After serving as governor, he moved to Nashville permanently and worked for 10 years managing government and public relations for Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). He ran for governor again in 1986 but lost to Democratic Ned McWherter in the general election. Dunn’s conservative views were influenced by Barry Goldwater’s 1960 book, The Conscience of a Conservative, and concerns about the spread of communism. As governor, he was known for unifying the state’s three major regions with fair distribution of government resources, and for a lack of corruption, which had been a problem in the past. He started new departments in state government, including the Tennessee Housing Development Authority, and spent money on new initiatives. But he…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — President Trump may have been at the top of the ticket, but it was obvious from the enthusiasm shown for Vice President Mike Pence in Nashville on Thursday that he has his own strong fan base. People interviewed by The Tennessee Star at the Music City Center cited Pence’s conservative beliefs and Christian convictions as reasons they support the vice president. Pence was in Nashville to be the keynote speaker Thursday evening at the annual Statesmen’s Dinner held by the Tennessee Republican Party. During last year’s presidential campaign, Pence was seen as a steady presence and influence on Trump, who lacked Pence’s political experience and has a more flamboyant personality. Before serving as vice president, Pence was governor of Indiana and a congressman. But Pence is not without his colorful side. “He rides a Harley,” said Ken Nelson Jr. in offering another reason he backs the vice president. Nelson is a real estate agent who serves on the board of the Wilson County Republican Party. Gail Jones and her friend Vicki Beaty, both of whom live in Cleveland, Tennessee, had nothing but praise for Pence. “I like everything he stands for,” said Jones, an office manager for…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday personally thanked the Volunteer State for helping put President Trump in office. “We were counting on Tennessee last fall and Tennessee delivered,” Pence said during his keynote speech at the Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner. The annual fundraising event was held at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam gave opening remarks. In November, Trump won 61 percent of the vote in Tennessee, taking all but three counties – Davidson, Shelby and Haywood. Pence in his speech also celebrated the news that broke Thursday about West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Pence devoted most of his speech to praising Trump’s successes in office and his plans for the coming months. He said Trump is slashing more regulations than any other president in American history, and noted the president’s efforts to roll back progressive environmental policies, such as ending the “war on coal” and withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. Pence also lauded Trump for increasing defense spending, strengthening border protection and cracking down on gangs such as MS-13. In the area of foreign policy, Pence said other countries know that…
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Vice President Mike Pence will be the keynote speaker for this year’s annual Tennessee GOP Statesmen’s Dinner to be held Thursday, Aug. 3. “This is an exciting time for the Tennessee Republican Party as we continue to grow and gear up for 2018’s critical elections,” said party chairman Scott Golden in a news release. “With Vice President Mike Pence as our Keynote Speaker and Governor Bill Haslam as our Dinner Chair, we expect this will be one of the largest and most successful Statesmen’s Dinners to date.” The event will be held at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville, with receptions beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner and program starting at 6:30 p.m. Attire is business professional. Individual tickets are $250 and can be ordered online at secure.anedot.com/tennessee-republican-party/tngop-statesmens-dinner. If you would like to purchase tickets to the Congressional Reception at $5,000, Keynote Photo line at $10,000 or Vice President’s Reception at $25,000, contact Ashley Harbin at [email protected] or 615-269-4260. Past Statesmen’s speakers include former South Carolina Governor and current U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (2016), former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (2015), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (2014), U.S. Senator Tim Scott (2013), former Vice President Dick Cheney (2002) and former Vice…
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