main gubernatorial video page: 2018 Tennessee Candidates for Governor

Watch videos to learn what the candidates for Tennessee’s Governor think about issues concerning civil government, marriage, family, the separation of powers, and religious liberty!

Letter Sent to the Gubernatorial Candidates

The third week in February, the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) sent letters to all the gubernatorial candidates, both the Democratic candidates and the Republican candidates, asking them to participate in our video voter guide. Those candidates included (in alphabetical order): Diane Black, Randy Boyd, Karl Dean, Craig Fitzhugh, Beth Harwell, Bill Lee, and Kay White. Participants who followed our guidelines and answered all 9 questions include Diane Black, Randy Boyd, Bill Lee, and Kay White.

Process Explained to the Candidates

Along with the mailed letter, FACT sent each of the candidates a list of nine questions we wanted to have answered dealing with civil government, marriage/family, separation of powers, and religious liberty.

We gave the candidates the option of whether they wanted to do the video themselves or to come to FACT’s headquarters and have us shoot each video answer interview style with FACT President David Fowler.

Candidates could choose to shoot their own videos in either interview style or have each candidate talk into the camera. Each candidate was told to answer each of the nine questions within 3 minutes. Any answers that were longer than 3 minutes would not be shown and noted as such.

List of Questions

Along with the letter and the video process, we sent a list of 9 questions.

List of Abbreviated Questions

For those candidates who chose to do their videos themselves instead of coming into FACT’s headquarters, we also offered a list of abbreviated questions that could be used as visual overlays or title slides on each video.



Videos by Gubernatorial Candidate Name

All gubernatorial candidates are represented here in alphabetical order even though not all participated.

Video Answers by Question

  • QUESTION 1

    What do you think is the primary function of civil government?

  • QUESTION 2

    Do you think that either the concept of “gender,” as distinguished from “sex,” or “gender identity” should be included as a protected class in Tennessee’s civil rights laws?  Why or why not?

  • QUESTION 3

    Do you think the concept of sexual orientation should be included as a protected class in Tennessee’s civil rights laws?  Why or why not?

  • QUESTION 4

    If litigation over a new or existing law in Tennessee or even in some other state gave the United States Supreme Court an opportunity to reverse its 2015 decision regarding same-sex marriage, would it be your hope that the Court would do so?  Why or why not?

  • QUESTION 5

    If Roe v. Wade were ever overturned, what law or laws regarding abortion would you be willing to encourage the Legislature to enact and why?

  • QUESTION 6

    In 2016, the ACLU filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against a local school district for discrimination because it had designated its multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms for use based on the student’s biological sex, even though it made accommodations for students who do not want to use those facilities based on their biological sex. What are your thoughts about whether schools should be allowed to have such a policy and whether the state should protect local schools from complaints and lawsuits over such policies?

  • QUESTION 7

    Should the Attorney General continue to be appointed by the state’s Supreme Court justices or should that office be filled by popular vote of the people or by appointment of the Legislature in the same way they appoint the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer and what is the basis for your opinion?

  • QUESTION 8

    What criteria would you apply in nominating someone to the Tennessee Supreme Court?

  • QUESTION 9

    In some states, religiously-based adoption agencies are being threatened with the loss of their state license to do adoptions if they will only place children in homes in which the marriage is between a male and female. What position would your administration take on that issue?