GOTV Intel

David Hatley

Candidate for Tennessee Governor · Independent

On the 2026 ballotCandidate · Tennessee Governor · Nov 3 General

Ballot status source: Certified — Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections: November 3, 2026 General Election candidate list (Governor) · read Sep 24, 2026

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Results

Certified results for Tennessee Governor

Governor — Democratic primary

Tennessee State and Federal Primary 2026-08-06 · Aug 6, 2026
CandidateVotesShare
Jerri GreenDemocratic244,27769.0%
Carnita AtwaterDemocratic63,28917.9%
Kevin Lee McCantsDemocratic18,9725.4%
Tim CyrDemocratic14,7994.2%
Adam "Ditch" KurtzDemocratic12,4653.5%

Certified (Tennessee Secretary of State official results) · Tennessee Secretary of State — certified results by precinct

Governor — Republican primary

Tennessee State and Federal Primary 2026-08-06 · Aug 6, 2026
CandidateVotesShare
Marsha BlackburnRepublican311,39243.6%
John RoseRepublican235,56132.9%
Monty FrittsRepublican168,00423.5%
Write-In - David Fey10.0%

Certified (Tennessee Secretary of State official results) · Tennessee Secretary of State — certified results by precinct

Governor

2022 State and Federal General Election · Nov 8, 2022
CandidateVotesShare
Bill LeeRepublican1,129,39064.9%
Jason Brantley MartinDemocrat572,81832.9%
John GentryIndependent15,3950.9%
Constance M. EveryIndependent10,2770.6%
Deborah RouseIndependent3,7720.2%
Rick TylerIndependent2,3800.1%

Certified — Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections (official precinct results) · Tennessee Secretary of State — certified results by precinct

Key Votes

The record

  • No public voting record

    David Hatley has never held elected office, so there are no votes to show. As of September 25, 2026 he is not on the current rosters of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Carter County or Washington County commissions or the Elizabethton City Council, and he does not appear in any Tennessee Secretary of State certified results for state or federal office from 2008 to 2026. Press reports say he has never run for office before.

    Sep 25, 2026 · Official · Official rosters and certified results (see payload) · source

Newest first. A close vote was decided by 5% of the votes cast or less (or 10 votes or fewer, under a fifth of the votes). Broke with party: voted against most of their party, where the record gives the party split.

Their Money

Campaign finance

Last Change
Profile updated · Sep 25
Raised
Not on file
Cash on Hand
$5,741,381this report
Spent
$1,258,629this report

Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, filer 12085 (reports 125691, 127050, 128243), Hatley for Governor, 2026 (through the Pre-Primary report) (through Jul 30, 2026)

Finance Reports

  • Campaign finance — Hatley for Governor, 2026 (through the Pre-Primary report)

    Hatley is paying for his own campaign. He has lent it $7,000,000 ($2,000,000 on March 10, 2026 and $5,000,000 on July 24, 2026), and none of it had been repaid as of July 2026. Net contributions from others total $10.00: the campaign refunded most of the small gifts it received. Through the Pre-Primary report filed July 30, 2026, it spent $1,258,629.39 and had $5,741,380.61 cash on hand. Liabilities were the $7,000,000 in loans plus $57,143.83 in unpaid obligations. About two-thirds of spending went to advertising, mostly broadcast TV bought in mid-July. Figures reconciled from itemized schedules.

    Jul 30, 2026 · Official · Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, filer 12085 (reports 125691, 127050, 128243)

  • Statement of Disclosure of Interests (Tennessee Ethics Commission)

    Candidate statement for Governor, filed April 8, 2026. Income: Hatley lists 13 sources — LPI Holdco, Inc.; Whisper Outdoor, LLC; Whisper Carts, LLC; LP Financial, Inc.; LP Financial Group, LLC; LPI Service, LLC; Leisure Lending, LLC; Sunshine USA, LLC; Hatley Construction, LLC; Hatley Aviation, LLC; Hatley Properties, LLC; 4RCE Marketing, LLC; and, jointly with his spouse, Hatley Hospitality, LLC. Investments: Taste Trade (as filed); a seller note with LPI Holdco; and warrants for LPI Holdco stock. Nothing reported for loans, professional services, retainers, lobbying, bankruptcy or leadership PACs. Tennessee's form lists names only; it does not report dollar amounts or value ranges.

    Apr 8, 2026 · Official · Tennessee Ethics Commission

Filings

  • Business entities (Tennessee Secretary of State)

    Twelve of the thirteen businesses Hatley listed as income sources on his 2026 state ethics disclosure are registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State. Ten are active, including Whisper Outdoor, LLC (formed 2022), Whisper Carts, LLC (2020), LPI Holdco Inc. (2023) and Hatley Properties, LLC (2015). Two are administratively dissolved: Hatley Construction, LLC and 4RCE Marketing LLC. No Tennessee registration was found for LP Financial Group, LLC. The state's records list entities, not their officers or owners; his tie to each company comes from his own sworn disclosure.

    Sep 25, 2026 · Official · Tennessee Secretary of State (TNCaB business entity search) · source

Money shows as the filings named here report it. Payees are who the campaign paid; individual contributors are not shown.

Advertising

Who is advertising for and against David

  • Advertising summary — for and against (2026 cycle)

    For: own campaign $219,800 on Google (“David E. Hatley” 48 ads, Jul 14–Sep 24, 2026); outside Google ads $0–$0; Snap $0; broadcast TV pending (FCC political-file crawl in progress). Against: outside Google ads $0–$0; opponent campaign ads $0–$0; Snap $0. 2026 cycle. FEC independent expenditures: not applicable (state race). Meta: not searched — no API access.

    Sep 24, 2026 · Official · Ads summary (2026 cycle) · source

  • Google/YouTube ads — David E. Hatley (own campaign)

    Hatley's campaign has spent $219,800 on Google and YouTube election ads (48 ads, weeks of July 12 to September 20, 2026), per Google's political ads report. $209,100 of it, 95%, was aimed at Tennessee viewers.

    Sep 20, 2026 · Official · Google Political Ads Transparency bundle (data updated 2026-09-24 20:14 PT) · source

  • Broadcast TV ad orders — FCC political files

    Hatley's campaign bought TV time on at least 19 Tennessee broadcast stations. Their FCC political files hold his orders, contracts and invoices from July to September 2026. His state campaign reports show $835,093.49 spent on advertising through July 26, 2026, mostly TV time bought through Nexstar, Gray, Sinclair, Scripps, Sarkes Tarzian and TEGNA stations. Order totals from the FCC files have not yet been added up.

    Sep 9, 2026 · Official · FCC Public Inspection Files (file-name search 'Hatley') · source

Spend as each platform or filing reports it. Each line is a separate measure, and they are not added together.

In Their Words

What they have said, on the record

“Hatley's campaign website lays out his positions. He would pause approvals of new data centers until the state writes rules, with no tax breaks. He would create an independently elected state auditor, post all state contracts online and ban campaign contributions from state contractors. He would also ban Flock license-plate cameras. He is pro-life and pro-gun, and he supports teacher pay raises and literacy and trade-school programs.”
Where he stands (campaign website)Sep 25, 2026 · Self-published · hatleyforgovernor.com · source
“You show up. We write the checks. Tennessee wins. So stop hiding behind PAC money and attack ads.”
'Stop hiding': Independent gubernatorial candidate pledges to donate $1 million to charity if Marsha Blackburn agrees to debateSep 23, 2026 · Press · WSMV · source
“I've made a lot of mistakes, had a lot of failure had a lot of adversity, but I've always had god on my side. God has put me standing up here for a reason there's a reason why we're the highest pulling independent in Tennessee history right now.”
Independent gubernatorial candidate Dave Hatley hosts campaign rally in JacksonSep 23, 2026 · Press · WBBJ · source
“The more I thought about it, I am an independent. I really don't identify with either party 100 percent. I'm more of a straight down the middle person who's going to take the best idea.”
Independent David Hatley talks about his run for governorSep 15, 2026 · Press · Nashville Banner · source
“That's part of my testimony. I think that's what has put me on this journey. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to work and learn things the hard way, and I turned my life around.”
Hatley on his 1998 federal conviction, in his own wordsSep 15, 2026 · Press · WCYB News 5 · source
“I don't want anyone in my ear. It's very important that I go in on day one with a clean slate, only thinking about things that make sense for Tennessee.”
Spoilers or contenders? Two independent candidates for TN governor try to shake up the raceSep 15, 2026 · Press · Tennessee Lookout · source
Show all 8 statements
“Politicians have put Tennessee in a mess. Data centers expanding, cameras watching us everywhere, no transparency.”
Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Hatley bashes data centers in campaign adSep 1, 2026 · Press · Axios Nashville · source
“I understand the struggles that Tennesseans are going through, because I've lived them myself. The best leadership often doesn't come from the political class. It comes from the people who build businesses, create jobs, and understand what it takes to keep our state growing and strong, and help our people thrive. We deserve a governor who knows what it takes to meet a payroll, face a crisis, and come out the other side standing. I have spent thirty years proving what is possible for more of my fellow Tennesseans if we come together as a community with compassion for one another and a strong vision for our shared future.”
David Hatley enters Tennessee governor's raceMar 11, 2026 · Press · Elizabethton Star / Hatley campaign press release · source

In the News

Press coverage

Show all 13 articles

Headlines link to the original reporting, captured on the date shown.

Reach Them

Websites and accounts

  • Campaign website and public accounts

    Campaign website: https://hatleyforgovernor.com Public accounts: instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hatleyforgovernor; facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DkXYtJMTy/

    Sep 24, 2026 · Self-published · source

Polls

Public polls

  • Beacon Center of Tennessee / Beacon PollGeneral election · Governor

    Marsha Blackburn 55% · Jerri Green 34% · Undecided 11%

    Field dates not stated · 1,200 LV · Beacon Center of Tennessee

Released public polls of this race, as each pollster reported them. A poll is a snapshot, not a forecast.

The 2026 Field

Who else is running for Tennessee Governor

The Paper Trail

Filings, results and exhibits

  • Prior candidacies: none found

    The 2026 governor's race is David Hatley's first candidacy on record. He does not appear as a candidate in Tennessee Secretary of State certified results for 2008–2026, and the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance lists no Hatley candidate committee for the 2014–2024 elections. His only committee is the 2026 Governor committee (filer 12085). As an independent, he did not appear on the August 6, 2026 primary ballot; he goes straight to the November 3 general election.

    Sep 25, 2026 · Official · TN SOS historical results; TN Registry of Election Finance · source

  • Biography — David Hatley

    David E. Hatley ("Dave") was born and raised in Elizabethton, Carter County, and lives in Gray, Washington County. He is about 49 or 50 (born around 1976–77, per his own public statements). His campaign says he has no college degree, started his first business as a boy and opened his first retail store at 18. A tanning salon grew into a pool and hot tub business, now Whisper Outdoor, which makes hot tubs, golf carts, boats and off-road vehicles. The campaign credits him with nine companies, seven patents, about 750 Tennessee jobs, 740,000 square feet of manufacturing space and an employee stock ownership plan. He is married to Deborah; they have four children. He wrote the 2026 book "Tested in Tennessee." He is running as an independent; press reports say he has never run for office before. No military service is claimed in any campaign material.

    Sep 25, 2026 · Self-published · hatleyforgovernor.com (home and /press); Tennessee Secretary of State; Tennessee Lookout; Nashville Banner · source

  • Governor · TN-GOV

    Independent · Candidate · On the 2026 ballot

    Sep 24, 2026 · Official · sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com · source
    Sources (1)

  • On the ballot: Governor of Tennessee, Nov 3 2026

    Certified candidate for Governor (Independent, Gray) on the Tennessee Secretary of State's list of candidates for the November 3, 2026 General Election.

    Sep 3, 2026 · Official · Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections · source

File read Sep 25, 2026. Each item names its source. Record ID p_neqzgdmcc.

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