NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Independent gubernatorial candidate David Hatley put another $5 million of his own money into the race in September, lifting his own cash infusions to $12 million with the Nov. 3 statewide election less than three weeks away, according to the latest campaign finance reports.
Those filings, due Tuesday, show Hatley entered the closing stretch with more than $6.8 million cash on hand, the largest war chest among the major candidates even as polls and history still favor Republican nominee U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Blackburn raised $2.1 million in the window from the end of the August primary through Sept. 30 and headed into the final weeks with about $3.1 million available. Democratic nominee Jerri Green raised nearly $1 million in the same quarter, her strongest single reporting period of the cycle. Independent Lauren Pinkston raised about $150,000.
Outside money is also shaping the airwaves. Choose Freedom PAC, filed in Alabama, reported a $4.2 million transfer from Choose Freedom Inc., a nonprofit based in Massachusetts that has poured money into U.S. House and Senate contests this year. The PAC has run television ads attacking Hatley in recent weeks.
Two PACs that backed Blackburn in the primary continue to raise money. Team Tennessee booked a $50,000 September gift from Kalshi, a prediction market now in a Tennessee court fight over sports wagering-style contracts. The Tennessee Freedom Fund brought in about $670,000 in the period, including several $100,000 gifts from business donors.
No Democrat has won a Tennessee statewide office in two decades, and the state has never put an independent in the governor’s chair, which is why cash alone may not rewrite the race. Voters will decide the open seat on Nov. 3 alongside three constitutional amendments.
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