2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Bill Lee: Ban abortion, even for rape and incest.     Karl Dean: Politicians shouldn't insert themselves in abortion decision.     Diane Black: Opposes funding of Planned Parenthood.

Budget & Economy     Bill Lee: Made hard decisions needed on company budget; it worked.     Diane Black: Get government off the backs of job creators.     Karl Dean: Economic development statewide instead of just Nashville.

Civil Rights     Bill Haslam: Remove Confederate statues from state capitol.     Diane Black: Confederate statues are part of history.     Karl Dean: First in Tennessee to join Mayors for the Freedom to Marry.

Corporations     Bill Lee: Reduce the tax & regulatory burden for everyone.     Karl Dean: Used tax incentives to lure companies to Nashville.     Mark Green: Reapportion corporate excise tax to favor businesses in TN.

Crime     Bill Lee: Men of Valor: re-entry program for former offenders.

Drugs     Bill Lee: Opposes recreational marijuana; wait on medical marijuana.     Karl Dean: No recreational marijuana; decriminalize light medical use.     Bill Lee: Raise penalties on drug traffickers, aid non-violent addicts.     Karl Dean: Provide treatment for opioids while stepping up prosecution.     Karl Dean: Medical marijuana ok, but opposes recreational use.

Education     Bill Lee: Supports charter schools & vouchers.     Karl Dean: Opposes vouchers & for-profit charter schools.     Karl Dean: Expand access to vocational training programs.     Karl Dean: Increase teacher pay; more resources for schools.     Karl Dean: Supports charters; opposes vouchers.     Diane Black: Supports tax dollars for private schools.     Karl Dean: Small city property tax increase to directed to education.     Bill Lee: Charter schools change lives of at-risk youth.     Karl Dean: Supports publicly financed, privately led charter schools.     Karl Dean: Expand school choice teacher accountability.     Karl Dean: Charters ok if non-profit, but vouchers not ok.

Energy & Oil     Karl Dean: Pledged to work toward reducing greenhouse gases.     Diane Black: Rejects Paris climate change agreement.

Environment     Karl Dean: Cuts to the EPA are unthinkable.

Families & Children     Bill Lee: Marriage is between a man & a woman.     Karl Dean: Supports gay marriage.     Bill Haslam: Declare pornography a public health crisis.

Foreign Policy     Diane Black: Must stand up to North Korea's missile tests.

Free Trade     Bill Lee: Opposes Trump's tariffs on China.     Karl Dean: Opposes Trump's tariffs on China.

Government Reform     Karl Dean: Nonpartisan redistricting; no voter ID.

Gun Control     Bill Lee: Oppose any attempt to ban an entire class of weapons.     Karl Dean: Strong background checks; ban bump stocks.

Health Care     Bill Lee: ObamaCare will not expand in Tennessee under my watch.     Karl Dean: Support ObamaCare; expand Medicaid.     Karl Dean: Expand Medicaid for low-income families.     Diane Black: Patients should respect their doctors' religious beliefs.     Diane Black: Repeal ObamaCare;need market-based solution.

Immigration     Bill Lee: Benefits for illegal immigrants is the wrong strategy.     Karl Dean: Earned path to citizenship; they are Tennesseans.     Bill Haslam: College tuition break for in-state undocumented immigrants.     Karl Dean: Immigrants are part of community; college tuition break ok.

Principles & Values     Bill Lee: We accomplished my vision at granddad's company.     Bill Lee: Former chairman of the Tennessee Prayer Breakfast.     Bill Lee: Faith would influence my decisions as governor.     Karl Dean: Pro-business centrist: good things happen in the middle.

Tax Reform     Diane Black: Flatter, simpler tax needed.     Karl Dean: Raised city property taxes, but after Great Recession.     Mark Green: Eliminate Hall tax: 6% on unearned interest and dividends.

Technology     Karl Dean: Increase gas tax to fund local transportation infrastructure.     Bill Lee: Infrastructure needs repairs, stop kicking can down the road.

War & Peace     Mark Green: Don't forget soldiers who made capturing Saddam possible.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Bill Haslam Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee Tennessee Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee Diane Black Tennessee Republican candidate for Tennessee Governor Karl Dean Tennessee Democratic candidate for Governor Mark Green Tennessee Republican candidate for Governor