Franklin Businessman Bill Lee Enters Governor's Race

FRANKLIN, TN — Lee. Co. chairman Bill Lee is running for governor, the Franklin businessman told The Tennessean.

Lee is the latest multimillionaire Republican to announce his intentions to seek the GOP nomination to succeed the term-limited Bill Haslam.

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"What if I could make my life better for six and a half million people? That was a compelling thought to me," he told The Tennessean. "That is really what drove me to consider running for governor."

In addition to his business experience — which will surely come up on the campaign trail — Lee also served on the state's Higher Education Commission and on Haslam's Task Force on Sentencing and Recidivism.

Lee told The Tennessean that while he is a social conservative, he does not plan on focusing on social issues in the campaign. Vanderbilt University political science professor John Geer told the newspaper that Lee has "all the ingredients to be a very successful candidate," despite his lack of electoral experience.

Randy Boyd, a businessman, former economic and community development commissioner and another affluent Republican, is already in the race and both he and Lee are likely to do significant amounts of self-funding. At the moment, they are the only announced GOP candidates, as State Sen. Mark Green ended his effort after his nomination to become President Donald Trump's Secretary of the Army. House Speaker Beth Harwell, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, U.S. Rep. Diane Black, Sen. Mae Beavers and former legislator Joe Carr are among those considering runs.

Image via Lee Co.