Bill Lee (Tennessee)

Bill Lee (Republican Party) is the Governor of Tennessee. He assumed office on January 15, 2019. His current term ends on January 16, 2027.

Lee received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1981.^[1] After graduation, he began working at the Lee Company, a mechanical contracting and home services company founded by his grandfather. In 1992, Lee became president of the Lee Company, a position he held until 2016.^[2]^[3]^[4] At the time of his election to governor in 2018, Lee was also affiliated with his family's Triple L Ranch, a cattle ranch located in Franklin, Tennessee.^[5]

Lee won the 2018 election for governor of Tennessee, defeating Karl Dean (D) 59.6%-38.6%. During his campaign, Lee described himself as a social conservative and political outsider.^[6]^[7] Lee said, "I have never run for office before and never worked for the government, and to me that's a real strength. It allows me to see things from the perspective of the people that we serve and to bring in fresh ideas and new approaches."^[7]

During his first term as governor, Lee signed several pieces of legislation relating to education, including laws that changed the state's school funding plan to a per-student plan and provided families vouchers to pay toward private school tuition.^[8]^[9] In 2020, Lee signed legislation that banned abortions after six weeks, though a U.S. District Court in Tennessee ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade.^[10]

In 2020, Lee signed the Human Life Protection Act, trigger legislation banning abortion in the state that went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.^[11]^[12] In 2023, he signed a bill providing exceptions to the ban in case of certain medical emergencies.^[13]^[14]

In 2021, Lee said his governing philosophy was "based on an idea of what the government can do well and what is better left to the faith-based communities, non-profits, and the private sector. There’s a proper role for each and a necessity to work together towards solving our biggest problems. As elected leaders, we need to realize we have a proper role to play. Often times, it should be focusing on what people want us to focus on and getting out of the way on everything else."^[15]

After running unopposed in the primary, Lee won re-election for governor in 2022, defeating Jason Martin (D) 64.9%-32.9%.

In 2024, Lee signed the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act to prevent unauthorized artificial intelligence deep fakes from using and imitating an artists' voice without their consent.^[16] At his 2024 state of the state address, Lee highlighted the ELVIS Act and other policies he supported, including requiring parental consent for social media users who are under 18, spending $200 million over the next five years on hospitals and $100 million on behavioral health and substance abuse support, and launching a Farmland Conservation Fund which would initiate a voluntary conservation easement for farm owners.^[17]

Biography

Lee was born in Franklin, Tennessee, in 1959. He attended Franklin High School and graduated from Auburn University in 1981 with a degree in mechanical engineering.^[18]^[1] After graduation, he began working at the Lee Company, a mechanical contracting and home services company founded by his grandfather. In 1992, Lee became president of the Lee Company, a position he held until 2016.^[2]^[4] At the time of his election, Lee was also affiliated with his family's Triple L Ranch, a cattle ranch located in Franklin, Tennessee.^[5]

Before his election as governor, Lee acted as a representative for the 7th Congressional District to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and as a member of the Board of Trustees at Belmont University. Lee also served as president of Tennesseans for Economic Growth, chairman of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, and a board member of Men of Valor Prison Ministry, a re-entry organization for ex-offenders.^[18]

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Lee's political career includes the following offices:

2019-present: Governor of Tennessee

Elections

2022

General election

General election for Governor of Tennessee

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Tennessee on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Lee (R)	64.9	1,129,390
		Jason Martin (D)	32.9	572,818
		John Gentry (Independent)	0.9	15,395
		Constance Every (Independent)	0.6	10,277
		Deborah Rouse (Independent)	0.2	3,772
		Rick Tyler (Independent)	0.1	2,380
		Charles Morgan (Independent)	0.1	1,862
	Submit photo	Basil Marceaux (Independent)	0.1	1,568
	Submit photo	Alfred O'Neil (Independent)	0.1	1,216
		Michael Scantland (Independent)	0.0	815
		Lemichael Wilson (L) (Write-in)	0.0	386
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	3

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,739,882
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Hosie Holomon III (Independent)
Jake Johns (Independent)
Wendell Jackson (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Tennessee

Jason Martin defeated JB Smiley Jr. and Carnita Atwater in the Democratic primary for Governor of Tennessee on August 4, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jason Martin	39.4	101,552
	JB Smiley Jr.	38.8	100,062
	Carnita Atwater	21.8	56,227

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 257,841
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Casey Nicholson (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Tennessee

Incumbent Bill Lee advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Tennessee on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Lee	100.0	494,362

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 494,362
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates