Official state beverage?A whiskey entrepreneur is one of the candidates rumored to be interested in running for Tennessee governor in 2026. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
The list of gubernatorial hopefuls in Tennessee is growing with the addition of an alcohol distiller and a private prison company executive.
Damon Hininger, CEO of CoreCivic, spoke at Republicans’ Statesmen’s Dinner last weekend, and Joe Baker, owner of Ole Smoky Moonshine and Yee-Haw beer — who chaired last year’s event — worked the crowd at the annual event, according to the Tennessee Journal.
Neither one is close to committing to a run for the governor’s seat, but Gov. Bill Lee was a political unknown with no name recognition other than as the owner of HVAC company bearing his last name before he vaulted over a crowded field of political veterans some six years ago.
They’re joined by a list of usual Republican suspects such as U.S. Reps. John Rose of Cookeville, Mark Green of Clarksville and Tim Burchett of Knoxville, as well as Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Knox County Mayor Glen Jacobs, formerly known as “Kane” the WWE wrestler. Jacobs wasn’t ready to announce when seen at the Cordell Hull Building this spring.
Hininger, though, is the most interesting of those simply because of his position as leader of the company that runs four state prisons. He could fit well with the lock ’em up crowd while Baker, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, would garner the drinking vote.
Comptroller’s Office audits have not been kind to CoreCivic, a publicly-traded company criticized for failing to hire enough staff to monitor inmates, which leads to a myriad of problems. People who’ve worked for CoreCivic at the prison in Clifton tell me management is the problem.
Asked about a potential candidacy by the Lookout, Hininger responded by email, saying “it’s no secret” he’s considering how he can “best serve” the state (It could be simply by bringing in more prison staff).
Hininger is only mulling a candidacy, but he declined to say whether he would divest himself of CoreCivic stock if elected.
“If I decide to run for office – and that’s a big if – and if the people of Tennessee decide I’m the right person to lead our great state, we’ll abide by the highest level of legal and ethical standards,” he said in an email statement. “To do this, I would seek out advice from multiple sources on not only meeting the appropriate standards but also what has been customary in similar, previous situations.”
This seems a pretty simple question, not one that would require an army of consultants.
But if nothing else, Hininger, who started as a prison guard, has the ability to throw together a word salad, for which journalists should be thankful? After all, we’re accustomed to deciphering and dealing with disappointment.
In his answer, he could be referring to Gov. Lee, whose holdings in Lee Co. are in a blind trust and when running said any contracts the company had with the state would be wrapped up and not renewed.
If that’s the case, then CoreCivic would drop its contracts totaling $233 million with the Tennessee Department of Correction, which is about as likely as cows flying.
And speaking of cattle, never underestimate the possibility of a political newcomer winning the governor’s seat.
The first time I met Bill Lee was a campaign stop at the Farmer’s Co-op in Eagleville seven years ago. About five people and a couple of heifers were there for the event, a pretty unremarkable gathering. But he gained momentum as a “political outsider,” and here we are six years later dealing with the fallout of Lee’s permit-less gun carry law (some say the escalation of handgun thefts from vehicles is not connected) and the possibility of spending millions for public school students to enroll in private schools, which again will be the biggest item on the Tennessee Legislature’s agenda next year.
It’s enough to make one long for a former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey governorship. Then again, the former lieutenant governor who engineered a Republican supermajority couldn’t beat former Gov. Bill Haslam in 2010 Republican primary.
Can I get a shot of moonshine with a craft beer chaser?
Black Caucus renews nonprofit
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is reviving a nonprofit organization that will focus on education, according to state Rep. Sam McKenzie, who chairs the group.
Members of the Black Caucus will start holding a fall event again to plan activities and, ultimately, give out scholarships.
The resumption comes nearly 10 years after the group suspended some efforts when it rebuffed former Republican state Rep. Stacey Campfield, a white lawmaker from Knoxville, as he tried to join the caucus. Campfield accused the caucus of having more racist bylaws than the Ku Klux Klan and pointed out the Klan didn’t bar people because of their race (After all, it needs all the members it can get).
Black lawmakers such as Democratic Reps. Johnny Shaw of Bolivar and Larry Miller of Memphis called Campfield a “strange guy” and “crazy,” in addition to questioning his racial motivation.
Knoxville Democrat Sam McKenzie, chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators. (Photo: John Partipilo)
No doubt, Campfield was trying to be cute and cause problems, as Shaw said, reviving the tired argument that groups made up of one race perpetuate separation. After all, if America is a truly color-blind nation, we don’t need organizations for one race. That’s easy to say for someone who’s never faced discrimination.
But as the Legislature has proved time and again, the Black Caucus is as important now as it ever was because of the overt and underlying friction within the General Assembly.
Please don’t ask me to replay the “Tennessee Three” debacle of 2023.
On the political trail
Life in Williamson County is growing stranger every day.
Long a Republican stronghold — for the love of money, whether gained legally or not — Williamson is home to an interesting race to replace state Rep. Sam Whitson of Franklin in House District 65.
Candidate Lee Reeves, who recently received the endorsement of Lee as the governor tries to shore up support for another run at statewide school vouchers, also snared the support of Americans for Prosperity (shocker alert) and former congressional candidate Robbie Starbuck, a music video director who produced a video claiming the trans community is targeting children.
Likewise, candidate Michelle Foreman, who was trounced by Democratic Rep. Caleb Hemmer two years ago in a southern Davidson County race, netted the backing of Tennessee Stands founder Gary Humble, a thorn in the side of traditional Republicans.
Reeves and Foreman are said to be in a battle of denial over carpetbagging, a case of moving into the area just to run for office.
Also running is Williamson County Commissioner Brian Beathard, who received Whitson’s support as he tries to tap into moderate Republicans, most of whom appear to be Williamson lifers.
The question is whether Reeves and Foreman will wind up canceling each other out in August’s Republican primary, much the way former House Speaker Beth Harwell and Kurt Winstead did two years ago, enabling former AFP state director Andy Ogles to capture the gerrymandered 5th U.S. Congressional District race encompassing part of Nashville.
VP aspirations?
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a potential running mate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and state Sen. Brent Taylor are heading the Shelby County Republicans’ Lincoln Day banquet Sunday, the Memphis Flyer reports.
Taylor, who is backing the event financially, appears to be more than a folksy “young grave digger,” as fellow Sen. Frank Niceley referred to him, passing several law-and-order bills this year and recently calling for the ouster of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
The Democrat DA had the gall to consider avenues besides conviction for non-violent felons caught carrying a gun, a move that got under Taylor’s skin, causing him to notify the lieutenant governor he will file a resolution to remove Mulroy after the November election. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally is backing the ouster.
Sen. Brent Taylor will headline the Shelby County Republican Party Lincoln Day Banquet with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Oddly enough, under Mulroy’s policy, convicts such as Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey, whom Taylor replaced in the Legislature, might be able to escape prosecution for packing a weapon. That is, if Kelsey lived in Shelby County.
Kelsey has moved on to Lexington, Kentucky, where his wife’s family is stationed, as he tries to renege on a guilty plea he made two years ago and overturn a conviction for federal campaign finance violations. (Lexington is also much closer to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati than Memphis, although some folks questioned whether Kelsey lived in Germantown for the last several years, even as he continued to serve in the state Senate.)
Getting back to Noem, she’s making the talk-show rounds to quell discussion about shooting a poorly performing hunting dog (they can piss you off if they start running deer, which is illegal) in a gravel pit as a group of construction workers watched. Why would anyone brag about that?
Simultaneously, she appears to be gathering support for a VP candidacy, yet saying the decision lies with Trump.
It sounds like a match made in heaven. While Noem wrote in her memoirs about killing a dog but doesn’t want to talk about it, Trump is the master of saying he didn’t say what he said.
With that duo, the White House would be at one with the universe again.
“Jai guru deva, om / Nothing’s gonna change my world.” *
* The Beatles, “Across the Universe”
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