David Hatley, an independent candidate for Tennessee governor, is running a self-funded campaign in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Hatley has loaned his campaign $7 million and spent just under $1 million on advertising, according to the Nashville Banner. He has no party affiliation and no donors.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Tennessee governor
  • Party: Independent
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot
  • Grew up in: Elizabethton, Tennessee (Carter County)
  • Current role: Chief executive officer at Whisper, LLC, a hot tub manufacturing company, since 2009

Other candidates in the race include Marsha Blackburn (Republican), Jerri Green (Democratic), Charles Van Morgan (Independent), Dave Seeman (Independent), Dean Brewer (Independent), Eddie Lee Murphy (Independent), Karl Knox Smithson (Independent), L. Webb Taylor (Independent), Lauren Pinkston (Independent), Misam Abidi (Independent), Ray Brown (Independent), Robert C. Vick (Independent), Victor L. Scoggin (Independent) and Wendell Jackson (Independent).

Experience and public service

Hatley said he has built nine companies. He said he holds 11 patents and operates 740,000 square feet of Tennessee manufacturing. His campaign website describes his hot tub company as the No. 1 hot tub manufacturer in America. He said he employs approximately 750 Tennessee workers.

Hatley said he started his first business at age twelve and opened his first retail store at eighteen. After rebuilding from the 2008 financial crisis, he said he established an employee stock ownership plan so workers could become part-owners of the company.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Hatley's campaign website and his responses submitted through BallotReady. They reflect the candidate's stated views.

Affordable housing

Hatley said Tennessee is roughly 120,000 starter homes short. He said he would provide infrastructure grants with conditions: the state would help pay for water, sewer and road work, and in exchange, communities would set aside 5–10% of new developments for homes priced at $250,000 or less. He also said he would roll back building code changes that added cost without meaningfully improving safety.

Government accountability

Hatley said he would create an independent, nonpartisan state auditor elected statewide, with authority to conduct forensic and performance audits, subpoena records and protect whistleblowers. The position would require a CPA or equivalent credentials, he said.

He also said he would rebuild Tennessee's spending portal so every legally disclosable contract, grant, amendment and payment is posted within 30 days, searchable and downloadable. He said he would ban contributions from significant state contractors while they are seeking or performing state work and end no-bid contracts outside documented emergencies.

Economic development and data centers

Hatley said he would impose a moratorium on new data center approvals until Tennessee writes new rules. He said he would end payments in lieu of taxes and abatements, require at least half of new tax revenue from data centers to go directly to cutting property taxes for homeowners in the host county, and require companies to pay for their own power and water infrastructure.

Education

Hatley said his goal is for Tennessee to reach the top ten nationally in reading within four years, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. He said he would place full-time reading coaches in the 100 lowest-performing elementary schools and require elementary teachers to demonstrate competency in the science of reading before licensure.

On workforce development, Hatley said he would end waitlists in the five highest-demand Tennessee College of Applied Technology programs: welding, mechatronics, practical nursing, industrial maintenance and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Public safety

Hatley said he would clear the state crime-lab backlog, expand the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's violent-crime team, and give rural sheriffs regional investigators and same-day state assistance. On the opioid crisis, he said he would triple the bureau's drug division from 48 to approximately 150 agents and require medication-assisted treatment in every county jail.

Candidate responses were collected from Hatley's campaign website and through BallotReady. The Franklin Beacon did not interview the candidate. Voters can learn more at hatleyforgovernor.com.