Hatley upbeat after Gov. bid falls short of expectations

Upstart independent Tennessee gubernatorial candidate David Hatley's hopes of a stunning result evaporated Tuesday night as returns came in, but the Johnson City based entrepreneur who poured millions of his own money into his campaign said he doesn't regret the decision. "Seeing how great all of Tennessee is and giving many unhappy Tennesseans hope was well worth it," Hatley said early Wednesday, adding that he'd "learned a lot" from the election. He didn't rule out another political run, saying he "will be much more prepared for my next opportunity." Hatley, 52, went from an unknown polling in the single digits to touting internal polls, showing him at 30% a few days before Tuesday's election. Those polls proved overly optimistic, though, as unofficial results showed Hatley with 195,564 votes for a 9.3% share. Republican Marsha Blackburn had a fairly narrow lead over Democrat Jerri Green in solidly Republican Tennessee, 45.5% to 43.0%. Hatley's strongest performance came in Carter County, where he lived as a child. His 26.3% vote share there put him second in the only county where he topped Green. Hatley's results in other Northeast Tennessee counties ranged from 15.6% in Sullivan to 20.1% in Unicoi, and he was at 18.2% in Washington County, where his manufacturing businesses employ several hundred people. "I saw a lot of people who were willing to step across party lines and vote for who they thought was the best candidate," Hatley said. "I also saw the challenges of running a well-funded campaign with no party help, so I think we are closer than ever to independents being able to compete, but it remains a challenge." Though never his expressed intent, the self-described Christian conservative Hatley's candidacy had the potential to negatively impact U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn's bid to replace departing Republican Gov. Bill Lee. Late polls had Blackburn up over Green by close to double digits, but even as strong Democratic turnout nationwide likely boosted Green's performance, Hatley's total didn't dent Blackburn's numbers enough to swing the race. As early returns made Hatley's fate clear Tuesday night, several hundred people at his watch party at the Johnson City Country Club didn't appear overly dejected. Kevin Yates and his wife Marsha had driven from Knox County hoping to be part of a groundbreaking upset. "We definitely needed a change throughout the state, and he's the only candidate that I seen that had the best ideas and options for the state of Tennessee," Yates, who called himself a lifelong Republican, said. Hatley's campaign took a clearly populist approach to top of mind issues like affordability, public education, data centers and taxes that impact low and middle-income Tennesseans, like the grocery tax and property taxes. He also railed against what he called "pay to play" politics in Tennessee and called for a change to electing an independent auditor for the state. Hatley claimed such a position could recapture or prevent misspending that could offset tax reductions and be used to bolster rural healthcare, trade schools and other state initiatives he supports. Yates mentioned Hatley's focus on affordability and what he called a common sense approach to regulating data centers as among the reasons he voted for Hatley. He said he thinks Hatley's candidacy can impact future statewide politics in Tennessee. "I think it'll show that it doesn't have to be a letter at the end of your name to run – you just have the right values, right ideas and be honest and truthful to your people. I think that's what people are looking for," Yates said. Hatley, who touted his business experience and a compelling personal story – a rise from a difficult upbringing and early mistakes that included a felony conviction for passing bad checks in the early days of his business career – said he believes his inclusion in the race mattered. "We ran a campaign grounded on government transparency and improving Tennesseans' everyday lives, and I think we aligned with many people who know that's needed," he said, adding that he was thankful for "a very passionate supporter base."