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Meet the Candidate: Diane Black




Black

Black

As the first week of early voting was winding down on Friday afternoon, U.S. Congressman Diane Black (R-6), who hopes to sweep the Republican nomination in the gubernatorial primary Aug. 2, was not.

The Wilson Post caught up with Black mid-afternoon in between campaign appearances. Black admitted that campaigning for this election was somewhat different than prior campaigns. She’s visited both rural and metropolitan areas across the state and, instead of being exhausted, Black said it was “energizing.”

“It has been wild and energizing at the same time,” she said. “I love meeting people across the state.”

Black comes from a quite humble background.

She was born in Maryland and became the first person in her family to earn a college degree.

She obtained her Associates Degree in Nursing from Anne Arundel Community College before earning her Bachelors in Nursing from Belmont University in 1991.

If elected, she would be the first female governor of Tennessee.

Black said that she has never used gender as platform – instead, she advised young women to educate themselves.

“I tell them that they can be whatever they want to be, and the way you get there is by having the answers and being the problem solver,” she said. “Study issues and come up with solutions.”

Black is a career nurse. She maintains her license.

“I’m the only nurse that is in Congress, and I’ve used my career in nursing in a remarkable way,” she said.

She was a nurse when she was inspired to run for public office in 1998. Black was elected as a state representative and served in that capacity for eight years before becoming a state senator in 2004.

“I saw what TennCare was doing to the cost and quality of care,” she said. “TennCare doesn’t look (now) like it did back then.”

When Black was elected to Congress in 2010, she had three specific goals to accomplish. She wanted a conservative budget, tax reform and to challenge Obamacare, stating, “I believe we need to let people decide what they want as far as coverage and what they can afford.”

“I said I would do those things and then come home,” she said. “I’ve done those things, and now I’m ready to come home and serve my state.”

Black’s husband and family have been incredibly supportive of her next journey.

“I couldn’t ask for a better family. They are willing to give of their time and treasure to get our message out,” she said, noting that she considers supporters part of her family, too.

Black is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Tennessee Right to Life.

One of the state’s biggest challenges in Black’s opinion is opioids. She said she has a plan – not a magic wand – to stop it.

“It includes teaching people the dangers of opioids, giving law enforcement tools they need to stop pill mills and drug dealers – and also a plan for recovery – finding a way to help these people get their lives back together,” Black continued.

She said Tennessee is a great state because of the people, low taxes, good schools and traditional values.

“We’ve been voted the friendliest state before,” she said. “People come here to visit – and a lot of times they enjoy it so much that they come back to live here.”

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