Hot tub magnate David Hatley mounts independent bid for Tennessee governor
The gist
Independent David Hatley, a Johnson City hot tub magnate, has loaned nearly $12 million to his Tennessee campaign.
Outside groups have spent just under $10 million attacking him before election day.
How it unfolded
- Aug 19, 2026Hatley re-registers to vote; his Washington County record shows he pulled Republican ballots in the May and August primaries.
- Sep 18, 2026The Choose Freedom PAC registers in Tennessee and the same day takes a donation of exactly $4.2 million, spending the same amount on ads attacking Hatley over legal issues surrounding his finances in the 1990s.
- Sep 23, 2026Hatley pledges $1 million in charity donations, from him and campaign employees, to three Tennessee charities only if Blackburn agrees to debate him and Jerri Green.