William Byron Lee (born October 9, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who has served since 2019 as the
50thgovernor of Tennessee.[1][2] A member of the
Republican Party, Lee was president and
chief executive officer (CEO) of the Lee Company, a business operated by his family, from 1992 to 2016.[3]
William Byron Lee was born on October 9, 1959. He was raised on his family's 1,000-acre (400 ha) cattle farm started by his grandparents in
Franklin, Tennessee, the Triple L Ranch; the family raises
Hereford cattle.[8][9][10] Lee is a seventh-generation Tennessean.[11]
After graduating from
Franklin High School in his hometown,[12] Lee entered
Auburn University in 1977 and graduated in 1981[13] with a bachelor's degree in
mechanical engineering.[9] In college, Lee was a member of the
Kappa Alpha Order, a fraternity known at the time for its use of
Confederate imagery, and a photo printed in the university's 1980 yearbook shows Lee in a Confederate military uniform at the fraternity's "
Old South" party.[14] In 2019, after his attendance came to light, Lee expressed regret for his participation: "I never intentionally acted in an insensitive way, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that participating in that was insensitive and I've come to regret it."[13]
Lee was named president and CEO of his family's home services and construction company, Lee Company, holding the position from 1992 until 2016.[9][4] He briefly served as chairman.[4]
Personal life
Lee lives in
Fernvale with his second wife, Maria, whom he married in October 2008.[15] His first wife, Carol Ann, died in 2000 in a horseback riding accident.[16][17] After her death, Lee took extended time off from his construction company to raise his four children.[9]
In April 2017, Lee announced his candidacy in the
2018 election for
governor of Tennessee.[4] A self-described
social conservative, he also targeted pro-business Republicans.[4] In the
Republicanprimary election, Lee faced Congresswoman
Diane Black, Knoxville businessman and former Tennessee Economic and Development Commissioner Randy Boyd, and
state House speaker
Beth Harwell.[4][18] Originally considered a long shot, Lee rose in the polls as Boyd and Black launched
negative advertising against each other.[2][19] He won the August 2 primary with 291,414 votes (36.8%) to Boyd's 193,054 (24.3%), Black's 182,457 (23.0%), and Harwell's 121,484 (15.3%).[20]
Lee defeated former
DemocraticNashville mayorKarl Dean in the November 6 general election,[21] receiving 1,336,106 votes (59.6%) to Dean's 864,863 (38.6%).[22] This marked the first time since
1982 that a candidate from the incumbent
U.S. President's party was elected governor of Tennessee. This is also the first time that Republicans won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state, and the first time that a Republican was elected to succeed another Republican.
In September 2020, Lee announced his candidacy for reelection for
2022.[24] He was unchallenged in the Republican
primary[25][26] and endorsed in August 2021 by Donald Trump.[27]
In the November 8 general election, Lee was reelected, receiving 1,129,390 votes (64.9%) to
Democratic nominee Jason Martin's 572,818 (32.9%).
During the general election, Lee flipped reliably
DemocraticHaywood County, home to
Brownsville. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee, along with
Shelby County, with a majority
African-American population. Haywood County has not voted Republican on a presidential level since
1972.
Voter turnout for the 2022 midterm elections in Tennessee was the lowest it has been in nearly a decade, with only 38.57% of Tennessee's
registered voters turning out. The last time turnout was this low in Tennessee was in the
2014 midterm elections. This turnout was far below the
2020 presidential election in Tennessee, which saw a turnout of 68.6%.[28][29]
In January 2020, Lee proposed a bill to
ban abortion as early as
six weeks into pregnancy.[31][32][33] The legislation was among the nation's strictest abortion bans, and was similar to six-week abortion bans that were blocked by courts in Mississippi, Ohio, and other states.[34][35] Passed in the final hours of the General Assembly 2020 session on a
party-line vote, it was challenged in federal court by
Planned Parenthood and the
ACLU.[36][37] Lee signed the bill into law in July 2020.[35] A federal judge immediately blocked its enforcement because it violated
Supreme Court precedent, such as Roe v. Wade, which prohibits undue burdens on pre-viability abortions.[34]
After
Roe v. Wade was overturned, Lee supported Tennessee's near-total ban on abortion, which provides no exception for rape, incest, or the mother's health, except in cases of serious bodily harm to the mother.[38]
In January 2020, Lee signed an executive order effective March 1, 2020, that offered state employees three months' paid leave for new parents and caregivers of sick relatives. He called it "one of the most cost-effective investments in the families of our state employees in recent history".[42]
Budget and economy
In 2019, Lee proposed repealing Tennessee's 10% amusement tax on gym, fitness center, and health club fees, arguing that the tax discourages Tennesseans from being physically active. If enacted, the repeal would reduce state revenues by around $10 million.[43]
In September 2020, Lee supported a Tennessee delegation that traveled to Beijing to enhance trade and economic linkages between the state and the
People's Republic of China.[44]
Education
In a March 2019 "State of
West Tennessee" address, Lee proposed creating more charter schools and that the state use $25 million to help traditional public schools when they lose students.[45] In his February 2020 "state of West Tennessee" address, he proposed investing $70 million to equip teachers with professional development, materials, and other tools to help increase the state's literacy rate.[46] Lee has also promoted the GIVE program, which prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide.[47]
In April 2019, Lee announced that Tennessee would temporarily reinstate paper-based assessments for students taking the TNReady test, an annual statewide assessment, during the 2019–20 school year.[48]
Lee supports
charter schools.[49] In May 2019, he signed into law a
school voucher bill that created a program to provide public funds to families for private school tuition and costs, starting in the 2020–21 fiscal year,[50] but a judge ruled the program unconstitutional in May 2020, before it could go into effect.[51] Of $64 million in discretionary COVID-19 relief funding for education that went to his office, Lee sent $10 million to charter schools, including $4.4 million to launch new charters.[52]
In July 2019, Lee signed a bill into law that calls for school districts across the state to establish threat assessment teams to address potential threats to school safety.[53]
In February 2020, Lee proposed a $117 million investment to increase teacher salaries and a $250 million endowment to address mental health in K-12 education.[54]
Race relations and Floyd protests
In July 2019, Lee signed an order proclaiming
Nathan Bedford Forrest Day, as required by Tennessee law, celebrating Forrest, a famous Confederate general and the first Grand Wizard of the white supremacist group the
Ku Klux Klan.[55] The legislature repealed this requirement in June 2020.[56] In December 2019, Lee proclaimed December 1
Rosa Parks Day, to commemorate the start of the 1955
Montgomery bus boycott.[57]
In May 2020, after
Minneapolis police
murdered George Floyd, Lee condemned the officers involved, saying, "police brutality is not law enforcement".[58] On May 30, 2020, an "I will breathe" protest was held in Nashville in protest of Floyd's murder. During the protest, a man set fire to the
Davidson County Courthouse; the building was not severely damaged.[59] In response, Lee mobilized the National Guard in Nashville, saying the protests had taken "a violent, unlawful turn".[60]
In August 2020, Lee signed into law a bill[61] increasing the severity of penalties for a number of protest-related offenses. One notable change[62] is that it reclassifies camping on state property, after being warned of trespass, from a misdemeanor to a felony offense punishable by up to six years in prison. This means that anyone convicted of the act will also lose their right to vote, as
convicted felons in Tennessee are disfranchised.[63]
In 2024, Lee signed a law allowing public officials to refuse to perform marriages that they oppose for "reasons of conscience or other religious beliefs", including refusing to perform interracial or interfaith marriages.[64] The law allows for "the possibility for couples to be refused marriage for a whole host of reasons, including their race, religion or national origin".[65]
Lee supports
capital punishment, and Tennessee has executed seven people since resuming executions in 2018.[66]
One notable person executed under Lee is
Nicholas Todd Sutton. He was sentenced to life after taking 3 lives from 1979 to 1980. While in prison, he saved one corrections officer's life, protected two others,[70] and converted to
Christianity.[71] In 1986, Sutton took the life of another prisoner after he threatened to kill Sutton, who was then sentenced to death.[72] In February 2020, he was executed after Lee denied clemency.[73]
In 2019, with the support of Republican state legislators, Lee loosened Tennessee's handgun law, allowing "concealed-carry-only" handgun permits to be obtained without requiring applicants to show an ability to fire a weapon.[75] In April 2021, Lee signed into law a
permitless carry bill; the legislation allows most adults 21 and older (as well as military personnel ages 18–20) to carry handguns (
open and
concealed) without a background check or required training. It also increased the penalty for unlawful use of a firearm and obtaining an illegal firearm.[75] The bill, which Lee also supported the previous year,[75][76] was supported by the
National Rifle Association of America and opposed by law enforcement organizations, such as police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors.[75]
After the
Covenant School shooting in Nashville on March 27, 2023, Lee initially did not call for any
gun control, saying: "There will come a time to discuss and debate policy. But this is not a time for hate or rage. That will not resolve or heal."[77] Lee said that his wife Maria was close friends with two of the shooting victims and one of them, Cindy Peak, had been expected for dinner at the governor's mansion on the day of the shooting.[78]
Four days after the shooting, with large protests in the state calling for reforms, Lee declined to explicitly say whether he would support gun control measures but did say that "individuals who are a threat to themselves or to others shouldn't have access to weapons."[79] In the wake of the scandals around the
2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions, which occurred after protests in favor of gun control, Lee signed an
executive order on April 11 strengthening background checks for gun purchases and also called for the state legislature to pass an "order of protection law".[80]
On August 8, 2023, Lee officially called for a special session of the General Assembly to be held on August 21 to focus on public safety in response to the shooting.[81][82]
Lee supports allowing religious foster care and adoption agencies to prohibit
same-sex married couplesfrom adopting children.[92] In January 2020, he signed into law a bill that assures continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies that exclude
LGBT families and others based on religious beliefs. Lee and supporters of the legislation framed the bill as a "religious liberty" bill that would shield organizations from potential lawsuits hostile to the group's religious beliefs.[6][93][94]Nike and
Amazon released statements opposing the bill.[95]
On March 26, Lee signed legislation banning
transgender athletes from participating in sports opposite to their biological sex, making Tennessee the third state to do so.[96] In May 2021, he signed a
bathroom bill that prohibited transgender people from accessing public school bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.[5]
In May 2021, Lee signed legislation that forces businesses who serve transgender customers equally with restrooms to display warning signs that they do so.[97] LGBT activists, Democrats, and some Republicans, criticized the bill as an attempt to shame and harm businesses.[98][97] Many businesses and business leaders threatened to leave Tennessee in protest of these bills, including Nissan North America, Amazon, Dell, Pilot, Mars PetCare, and Warner Music Group, and Republican transgender business leader
Jennifer Pritzker.[99] The
American Civil Liberties Union sued to stop the law,[100] and in July 2021, a federal judge granted a
preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, finding that it violated the
First Amendment.[101]
On February 27, 2023, Lee declared that he would sign the
Adult Entertainment Act, which bans public
drag performances; the first violation of the law would be a
misdemeanor, while the second would be a
felony. Lee's announcement came two days after photos of him dressed in drag at a
powderpuff game went
viral on social media platform
Reddit. The 1977 high school
yearbook photo shows Lee dressed as a female cheerleader, wearing a wig and pearl necklace.[102][103][104] Lee signed the anti-drag bill into law on March 2, 2023.[105][106] In June 2023, a federal court blocked the law as unconstitutional under the
First Amendment. The Tennessee attorney general has appealed the decision.
In 2024, Lee signed a law allowing public officials to refuse to marry couples "for reasons of conscience or other religious beliefs", including same-sex couples.[64]
Marijuana and gambling
As a candidate for governor, Lee opposed
medical marijuana legislation and
marijuana decriminalization.[107] As governor, he continued to oppose marijuana decriminalization, saying in 2019, "I have said before and still believe that we should not decriminalize marijuana... I think that's not good for our state."[108]
An opponent of legalized gambling in the state, in 2019 Lee allowed a
sports betting legalization bill to become law without his signature.[109][110]
On March 12, 2020, in response to the growing number of
COVID-19 cases, Lee issued an executive order declaring a temporary state of emergency in Tennessee to "facilitate the treatment and containment of COVID-19."[111] He extended the "stay-at-home" mandate through April 2020.[112][113] Lee issued further orders for a "limited continuing state of emergency" through 2020 and 2021 to facilitate the state's eligibility for federal economic aid, and allowed the
Tennessee National Guard and
Tennessee State Guard to continue to assist with COVID-19 response efforts.[114][115][116]
In March 2020, as the number of COVID-19 cases grew, Lee urged school districts to close through March to prevent the further spread of the disease.[117] In April, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to grow, he asked all school districts to close for the remainder of the school year.[118] In October 2020, after a member of Lee's security detail tested positive for COVID-19, Lee said that he and his wife would quarantine at home, likely for two weeks.[119]
Throughout the pandemic, Lee opposed a statewide mask mandate and "touted Tennessee for being one of the last to close early in the pandemic and among the first to reopen."[120] On April 28, 2020, Lee signed an executive order allowing gyms in 89 out of 95 counties to open on May 1.[121] By September, he lifted restrictions on businesses and gathering restrictions in Tennessee, except for the state's six most populous counties.[122] By April 2021, Lee declared that COVID-19 was "a managed public health issue in Tennessee and no longer a statewide public health emergency"; ended local authority on mask mandates in 89 counties; and called for remaining local restrictions to be lifted.[123]
As the highly contagious
Delta variant spread in Tennessee, Lee said that he had "no real concern" over it.[124] COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surged in Tennessee from July to August 2021.[120] Tennessee's
COVID-19 vaccination rate was among the lowest in the country.[125] Lee encouraged Tennesseans to get vaccinated, but opposed vaccine mandates and, amid the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, maintained that it was a personal choice whether to get vaccinated.[125][126] He also dismissed suggestions for a return to restrictions[126] or offering COVID-19 vaccine incentives.[126][25]
In 2021, Lee blocked the
Tennessee Department of Health from reaching out to teenagers to encourage them to get vaccinated.[125][127] In July 2021, his administration fired the state's vaccine chief, Michelle Fiscus, who had angered some Republican state legislators by promoting vaccination for eligible youth.[125] The state Health Department stopped vaccination-related outreach to minors for all diseases, not only COVID-19.[125] Lee opposed offering vaccine incentives even as the Tennessee government spent nearly $500,000 to incentivize farmers to vaccinate cattle against respiratory disease as part of the "Herd Health" program, launched in 2019 under Lee.[25]
In August 2021, Lee signed an executive order that allowed parents to let their children opt out of school mask mandates.[128] The next month, Lee vowed to fight President
Joe Biden's plan to require COVID-19 vaccines for federal employees and federal contractors, as well as to require businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing; Lee asserted that the action was unconstitutional.[129]
In November 2021, Lee signed a bill into law that restricted the ability of localities to implement public health restrictions, such as mask mandates.[130]
Other
In February 2020, Lee signed a bill making Tennessee's
official nickname the "Volunteer State." The name originated during the
War of 1812, when Tennessee sent 1,500 volunteer soldiers.[131]
In 2021, Lee appointed
John DeBerry as his senior advisor. DeBerry was a Democratic member of the state house whom the Tennessee Democratic Party removed from the 2020 primary ballot.[132]
^Karam, Alec (February 27, 2023).
"Drag-Banning Tennessee Guv Shrugs Off Old Drag Pic as a 'Lighthearted Tradition'". The Daily Beast.
Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. But that's different, Lee's office told The Daily Beast on Monday, saying that 'lighthearted school traditions' shouldn't be 'conflated' with the issue the state is banning.