Nashville – Former Tennessee Governor Winfield Dunn endorsed Jim Henry in the August 1 Republican primary for Governor at a Nashville press conference.
“I do hereby announce my strongest possible support of Jim Henry, and I most sincerely urge my fellow Tennesseans, particularly my fellow Republican primary voters, to cast their votes for Jim Henry in the August 1 Republican primary,” Dunn said.
“As a former Governor, I have chosen not to endorse between opposing candidates in Republican primaries. This year because of the critical importance of this election to choose a Governor for our state and people, I’m making an exception to my rule,” Dunn said. “We have two leading Republican candidates in the Governor’s race. After careful study and thought, I’ve decided that one of the two is much better prepared to lead and serve our state in the critical days and years ahead. That person is Jim Henry.”
Dunn said that Henry "fully undertands state government and will enter the chief executive’s office fully prepared to lead and guide every element of state government."
“All the experiences of Jim’s life have been building blocks leading him to this time. I can think of no time in the modern history of our state when we needed a person of Jim’s experience and ability to lead and manage our government more than we do at this time,” Dunn said. “Jim Henry has what it takes to bring our state together, to unite our party and to attract Democrats and independents to win in November.”
“This place I love so dearly, Tennessee, the Volunteer State, deserves the best it can possibly get in a Governor. That person is Jim Henry,” Dunn said.
Dunn was the first Republican governor in 50 years when he was elected in 1970. The former Shelby Countian remains active in the Republican party and in private business in Nashville.
Gov. Dunn’s endorsement follows a series of major newspaper endorsements for Jim Henry from across the state this past week. In the last week, Henry has received editorial endorsements from the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Nashville Tennessean, the Maryville Daily Times, the Clinton Courier, the Knoxville MetroPulse and the Nashville Scene.