NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Independent candidates David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston are getting attention in Tennessee’s race for governor.
Both have ignored calls, even threats, urging them to drop out of the race.
Hatley leans conservative, and Pinkston leans progressive, but neither wants to be labeled a Republican or a Democrat.
Hatley, a businessman who describes himself as politically conservative, has loaned his campaign $7 million and is appearing in a series of commercials.
His East Tennessee business manufactures hot tubs, golf carts, and boats.
Hatley wants to appoint an auditor to review the state budget.
“I’m a very conservative guy. You know I always have been. I’m pro-life. I’m pro-gun," Hatley said.
“The first thing we’re going to do is clean up this budget mess we got. No one can explain why we’ve got a $59 million budget. It’s growing twice as much as inflation," Hatley said.
Republican Marsha Blackburn's campaign has taken notice of Hatley and recently paid for a website attacking him.
It highlights his 1998 felony conviction for writing bad checks.
He addressed the issue during an interview on Inside Politics.
“That was a mistake I made. You know I was a 21-year-old kid when I wrote those checks and trying to keep my first business afloat. To be honest, I had no business even being in business at that age," Hatley said.
Hatley offered to donate $1 million to charity if Republican nominee Marsha Blackburn would debate him, but she has not accepted.
Some Republicans have expressed concern that Hatley could draw votes away from Blackburn and help Democratic nominee Jerri Green.
The threat "get out or die" was recently spray-painted on his East Tennessee business.
“It’s not going to deter me. It only fires me up. You use that energy because I’m going to disrupt this system that’s not worked for so long,” Hatley said.
On the Democratic side, similar concerns surround independent candidate Lauren Pinkston, who rejects talk of being a 'spoiler.'
“I’d say the spoiler is the two-party system that has driven Tennessee to have the lowest voter turnout in the entire country,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston is a mother of four who has worked on issues related to human trafficking and has taught at Lipscomb University.
She describes herself as progressive on social issues.
Pinkston said Green’s campaign recently contacted her and asked her to leave the race and campaign alongside Green.
“I say to democratic voters a lot, what has your party done for you?” Pinkston said.
“I don’t want to be labeled for the rest of my life as a democrat or a republican, where the republican party is right now,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston supports repealing the grocery tax and increasing access to child care.
She also opposes current immigration policies and ICE arrests.
“I think it’s going to take a strong independent to sit in the center and bring both sides together so that good policies can rise to the surface," Pinkston said.
Both candidates discussed their campaigns at length during separate interviews on Inside Politics, which airs on The Spot.
Inside Politics is also available as a podcast.
Just enter Inside Politics Nashville wherever you get your podcasts and start listening.
