Bill Lee wins Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee

Joel Ebert | The Tennessean

In arguably the biggest Cinderella story in Tennessee Republican politics in decades, Williamson County businessman Bill Lee on Thursday secured the GOP nomination for governor.

Lee bested a formidable field of opponents that included U.S. Rep. Diane Black, Knoxville entrepreneur Randy Boyd and House Speaker Beth Harwell.

"Today is a victory for Tennesseans who want an outsider, for people who want Tennessee not only to be an even better place to live for six-and-a-half million people, but for Tennessee to lead the nation," Lee said. "Tonight, we celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work."

Bill Lee: 'As good as Tennessee is it can be even better' Bill Lee the Republican gubernatorial primary as the underdog Thursday night.

Lee won 37 percent of the vote, followed by Boyd with 24 percent, Black with 23 percent and Harwell with 15 percent, according to unofficial results.

Gov. Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican Party and the Republican Governors Association offered congratulations to Lee.

"Bill is a man of strong faith and character, and I know he will lead Tennessee in the right direction," Haslam said.

"Bill Lee is the right man to lead our party to victory in November and beyond," McNally said.

While Republican observers anticipated a Lee win heading into election night, his commanding margin of victory was a surprise.

In Williamson County, where he lives on his family-owned farm, the 58-year-old Lee received more than 50 percent of the vote.

​​Lee will face former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who won the Democratic Party's nomination in a landslide, in the general election.

Lee's supporters gathered in The Factory at Franklin for a watch party that had a religious tone, as attendees raised their hands in prayer, while talking of Lee being God’s “messenger.”

Lee 'humbled' by support

As the evening continued, confidence among his supporters grew. Drew Luna, a real estate investor in Franklin, said Lee, his childhood friend, was “in a great position.”

“I felt confident going into tonight,” Luna said. “But now it looks like he’s got it."

TN election results: Diane Black congratulates Bill Lee Rep. Diane Black said she will support Bill Lee for governor

Addressing the crowd, Lee thanked his backers and said he was "humbled" by their support.

"I am really proud of the campaign that we have run," Lee said to cheers.

Lee’s victory comes despite his two main competitors — Black and Boyd — vastly outspending him in the lead-up to Thursday's election. The two spent nearly $35 million total compared with Lee's $7 million.

Throughout his campaign, Lee tried to paint himself as a business-minded outsider, akin to President Donald Trump, while touting his conservative credentials on everything from religion to the Second Amendment.

In the early going, Lee traveled the state on an RV and later a tractor while sharing his personal story of losing his wife in a horse-riding accident, highlighting his experience with nonprofit organizations and his business experience.

As the campaign continued, Lee proved he could compete in terms of fundraising and even hold his own during debates, despite having no political or government experience — unlike his three main opponents.

Staying above the fray

When the race entered the final month, Lee avoided criticizing Boyd and Black, who had launched their own attacks against each other and later him. They seized on Lee’s previous contributions to Democrats and actions taken by his private business.

By staying above the fray, Lee surged in the polls. Where he once trailed Black and Boyd, by late July, political observers began to admit Lee had seemingly become the candidate to beat.

In his victory speech, Lee pointed out that while others may launch attacks against him, he will not.

“We didn’t go down that road and we’re not going to start now,” he said, calling Tennessee a very good place to live, work and raise a family.

Brent Leatherwood, former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party, said every election offers candidates a chance to go negative.

"When that happens, voters begin to look around for who is providing a positive vision of leadership," he said, which is what Lee offered. "In doing so, he rewrote the playbook. Consultants around the country are going to dissect this race for years to come."

Political outsider

Lee's victory makes him the first true political outsider to win the Republican nomination for governor since Lamar Alexander, who before his 1974 campaign worked as an aide to U.S. Sen. Howard Baker and later an assistant to President Richard Nixon.

In a statement, Alexander said he looked forward to working with Lee.

Unlike Alexander, who bested a businessman and a former commissioner, Lee’s nomination is more akin to that of former Gov. Winfield Dunn.

Dunn secured the party’s nomination in 1970 as a little-known West Tennessee dentist, when he challenged the House speaker, a former party chairman and a former GOP gubernatorial nominee.

Like Dunn, who received 33 percent of Republican primary votes in 1970, Lee received about 37 percent in Thursday's election.

Vast sums spent on the race

Overall, the four Republicans cumulatively spent upwards of $45 million on the race, while infusing their campaigns, through loans or contributions, with more than $24 million in personal money. As such, the race has become the most expensive election in state history.

For Black, whose public service includes four terms in Congress and more than a decade in the state legislature, the loss is her first since she initially ran for office in 1998. The bruising defeat comes after securing support from Vice President Mike Pence and an endorsement from the National Rifle Association. It is unclear whether her failed bid for governor will be her last foray into politics.

"I love this state, and I believe that I did great things for our state, and I still believe that we can still, I can still, our family can still be a part of making things better in this state," she said while conceding to Lee.

"He has my full support," said Black, who was largely seen as the front-runner during the early months of the race. She said she has no regrets about her campaign.

Boyd’s defeat comes after he spent more than $21 million on the race. Despite literally running through the state's 95 counties, he failed to gain much traction among voters while trying to avoid being seen as too much of a moderate in a state that overwhelmingly supports Trump. Given his deep pockets, Boyd could certainly continue to influence, if not play a role, in future elections.

Randy Boyd: Unfortunately it wasn't enough Randy Boyd came up just short of the Republican nomination to winner Bill Lee, according to unofficial returns.

In his concession speech, Boyd, who praised Haslam, said, “Don’t shed tears for us. We’re going to still be able to get a lot of great things done.”

Harwell’s loss bookends a career in public service that started nearly 30 years ago.

Despite being able to run on many of the accomplishments under Haslam, her campaign struggled to gain traction in terms of polling and fundraising. It is unclear whether her failed bid for governor will be her last foray into politics.

"I leave my public service in state government with this state in tremendous condition," Harwell said while thanking her supporters.

On Saturday — two days after the end of a bruising campaign among Republicans — the four GOP candidates are all expected to participate in a gathering in Nashville where they will show unity behind Lee.

Complete coverage: Tennessee's 2018 campaign for governor

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Reporters Adam Tamburin, Jordan Buie, Tyler Whetstone and Jordyn Pair contributed.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.