Tea Party Favorite, Trump Delegate Mae Beavers To Run For Governor

MT. JULIET, TN — GOP State Sen. Mae Beavers, a favorite among the far right wing of the Tennessee Republican Party, will announce she is running for governor next week, she said in a statement.

Beavers was an early supporter of Donald Trump in the presidential campaign, announcing Tennessee's delegate count at the Republican National Convention. As once and perhaps future candidate State Sen. Mark Green, another darling of the tea party wing of the party, considers resuming his gubernatorial campaign, Beavers, 69, stands, at least for now, as the top draw for that segment of Tennessee Republicans. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

In a statement announcing her intention to announce her candidacy next Saturday at Charlie Daniels Park in her home of Mt. Juliet, Beavers made strong plays to tie herself to Trump.

"President Donald J. Trump is taking the lead in Washington, D.C., to 'drain the swamp' there, but we have our own swamp in Tennessee and I intend to do the same thing in the Volunteer State," her statement said.

Beavers has served in the State Senate for 15 years. She served eight years in State House before that.

She has drawn heavy criticism, frequently from Democrats but sometimes even from Republican colleagues, for some of her statements, particularly about Islam and LGBTQ issues. She said she intends to make security "a centerpiece" of her campaign.

"The terrorist threat from radical Islam not only impacts other countries or major cities in our own country — that threat is also targeted at our communities and our families in Tennessee," she said.

Beavers drew fire after alleging in a Macon County town hall that she had been told by "intelligence people" that Muslims were planning jihad in Tennessee and "infiltrating churches." She later said that she was told in the meeting with "former intelligence officials" that the information was inaccurate.

During this year's legislative session, Beavers was confronted multiple times by protesters, particularly for her support of the so-called "bathroom bill" and an effort to define marriage as between one man and one man, contrary to the United States Supreme Court decision in the Obgerfell case. Beavers eventually hired private security.

"As governor, I will make sure that Tennessee focuses on protecting children before they are born and then providing them a safe and secure environment to grow up in after they are born," her statement said. "That safety and security extends to making sure that men don't go into the bathrooms and locker rooms of little girls."

Officially, former economic and community development commissioner Randy Boyd and Franklin businessman Bill Lee are the only announced, active Republican candidates. Green suspended his campaign after Trump nominated him as Secretary of the Army. Green eventually withdrew his name from consideration in the wake of criticism from LGBTQ groups. He has not yet announced if he will resume his gubernatorial campaign.

Image via State of Tennessee