Governor of the State of Tennessee

Governor of the State of Tennessee

The governor of the State of Tennessee is the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Tennessee. Elected every four years by popular vote, governorship is limited to two consecutive terms.

The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces. He or she is responsible for signing or vetoing bills and joint resolutions as a final check before they become laws. Tennessee governors are also responsible for appointing state department heads, and some members of boards and commissions, such as the Commissioner of Finance who oversees the state budget. He or she appoints justices to the state, local, and appellate courts, who interpret and decide the constitutionality of laws made by the General Assembly. The governor grants pardons, oversees executive departments, makes recommendations for legislation, and signs all commissions granted by the state of Tennessee.

Governors must be at least 30 years old and must have lived in the state for at least seven years before being elected to the office. Tennessee’s governor’s salary is set at $170,340 per year, the ninth highest gubernatorial salary in the United States.

BILL LEE, Republican

Republican Bill Lee is the incumbent governor of Tennessee, elected in 2019. Lee received his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University before taking over his family’s Franklin-based home maintenance business, Lee Company. Before he was elected governor, he served as a representative for the 7th Congressional District to the TN Higher Education Commission and as a member of the Board of Trustees at Belmont University.

Economic development is a primary focus for Lee. During his tenure, the state created almost 40,000 jobs and $12.9 billion in capital investments, and was named the best business climate in the U.S. and best state for small business growth.

Lee has boosted education funding, with an additional $125 million going to teachers’ salaries. Lee supports and has funded school choice and is in favor of tax vouchers for parents to move their children to religious or private schools. Following the surge of mass shootings, he issued an executive order to enhance school safety. Lee supports teachers being armed, and does not support restricting firearms or strengthening gun control.

Lee received criticism for his COVID-19 response during the 2022 State of the State address, as Tennessee struggled with high infection rates and one of the lowest vaccination rates. He opted out of requiring mask mandates for schools, didn’t allow districts to shift fully to online learning, and diverted $4 million of federal COVID-19 funding to charter schools. In 2022, a News Channel 5 investigation reported Lee received campaign donations from school privatization PACs.

Last year, Lee supported a series of bills in the Tennessee legislature targeting LGBTQ+ people. These included a transgender athlete ban, bills criminalizing gender-affirming care, and restrictions on discussing LGBT+ issues in schools. A bill signed by Lee requiring trans-affirming businesses to post signs on restrooms was struck down in May 2022. He is a vocal pro-life advocate and has stated that he supports banning abortion, including in cases of rape and incest.

JB SMILEY JR. Democrat

JB Smiley Jr. was raised by a social worker and Bronze Star army soldier with his five siblings in Memphis, Tenn. After his collegiate and semi-professional basketball career, he earned his J.D. from the University of Arkansas. While studying, he served as a member of the Law Review, Moot Court Board, Vice President of the Black Law Students Association, and authored Born With It: Unleashing Your Greatness.

Smiley’s professional experience includes working as a civil defense lawyer and owning Smiley & Associates. In 2018, Smiley was listed in the Memphis Flyer’s Top 20 Under 30 class. He served as judicial counsel for the Young Democrats of America, the vice chairman of the Black Caucus of the Young Democrats of America, the vice president of the Shelby County Young Democrats, and a policy advisor to the Shelby County clerk.

In 2022, Smiley was elected to Memphis City Council. He holds several leadership positions including chairing the Public Works, Solid Waste and General Services Committee and vice chairing the Economic Development, Tourism & Technology Committee. He also serves as the City Council liaison for the Urban Art Commission and the Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission.

Smiley’s Council career has been marked by a desire to make his community a better place and foster progressive change. He plans to introduce a resolution urging local law enforcement not to prosecute women seeking aborations. He recently voted to increase government employee and firefighter pay. He authored resolutions to honor rapper and Memphis native Young Dolph and name a street in his honor. He has pushed for a formal review of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to dump coal ash in the Memphis area, citing the disproportionate impact on Black communities. His term ends in 2024.

The top policy priorities for Smiley are education, women’s rights, healthcare, and economic development and mobility. He aims to fully fund public education and overcome barriers to quality education that focuses on the whole child — physical, mental, and emotional well-being.If elected, he will advocate for affordable healthcare for all which includes Medicaid expansion, improving access to care, addressing dietary needs, and expanding mental health resources. He seeks to raise the minimum wage and invest in small businesses to address economic disparities in Tennessee.

CARNITA FAYE ATWATER, Democrat

Carnita Faye Atwater is a community activist in Memphis, Tenn. She holds a bachelor’s degree in community health education and nursing, a master’s degree in gerontology and public health administration, and a doctorate in public health administration.

This is Atwater’s first run for office. However, she is a regular fixture at protests, strikes, and other political actions.

Owner of the Kukutana African-American History and Culture Museum of Memphis located in North Memphis, she has worked as a nurse and is the director of New Chicago Community Development Corporation, an organization that aims to fight gentrification in North Memphis. In 2021, Atwater was ordered to repay $2 million in checks she wrote to herself from the estate of a woman for whom Atwater was providing in-home care.

Atwater believes it is time for Tennessee to have an African American governor. She is running to shine a light on injustice and political corruption. She is against the use of vouchers because she believes they take money away from public schools. She favors a “holistic” approach to education that addresses mental health and poverty. Among her many reasons for running for Governor, Atwater wants to combat homelessness, offer universal health care, transform the state’s prison system, ensure critical race theory is taught in higher education, and legalize marijuana.

JASON BRANTLEY MARTIN Democrat

Jason Brantley Martin was born in Southern Alabama and currently lives in Nashville. Martin is a critical care physician and pulmonologist affiliated with multiple hospitals in the Nashville area. He holds a medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and this is his first time running for office.

Martin has been in practice for over two decades in various roles, including leading the residency program as Chief Resident at the Nashville Veteran Affairs Medical Center. In December 2020, Martin held a news conference with two other physicians calling for a statewide mask mandate. He has criticized Gov. Lee’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating “Rather than leading with policies to keep our kids in schools, our businesses open and thriving, our families safe, they (Republican leadership) put extremist ideology ahead of (the) people of Tennessee.”

Martin considers himself a moderate Democrat. His many goals in running for governor include fully funding public education, decriminalizing marijuana, reforming the criminal justice system, protecting womens’ reproductive rights, and the civil rights of LGBTQIA+ Tennesseans. He is especially interested in expanding Medicaid and healthcare access for Tennessee’s rural communities. Martin wants to repeal permitless carry, and use existing regulation to make sure we don’t penalize responsible gun owners.

He is endorsed by several elected officials in Tennessee including Senator Heidi Campbell, House Democratic Caucus Chair Vincent Dixie and Representative John Ray Clemmons.