“I believe that public dollars should go to public schools for the public good,” Democrat Jerri Green told a crowd at Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday night. Her statement set the tone for a high-stakes gubernatorial forum where three candidates found rare agreement on the state grocery tax and school vouchers, but split sharply over the future of Medicaid and the policing of Memphis.
The event, hosted by MTSU in partnership with the Tennessee Press Association, served as the only nonpartisan forum of the election cycle to date. While Republican nominee Marsha Blackburn did not attend or respond to the invitation, candidates Jerri Green, David Hatley, and Lauren Pinkston faced questions on the economic pressures squeezing Tennessee families. With Election Day set for Nov. 3 and early voting ending Oct. 29, the forum highlighted a critical divide: whether the state should lean into federal partnerships to lower costs or pursue aggressive internal audits to find savings.
The battle over the dinner table and the mortgage
Inflation is hitting home for Tennesseans, with the housing index rising 2.6% this year and national inflation growing by 3.7%, according to data from MacroTrends. All three candidates on stage agreed on one immediate relief valve: eliminating the state grocery tax.
Beyond the grocery aisle, the candidates offered wildly different blueprints for housing. David Hatley proposed a direct hit to corporate landlords by capping the number of houses investment companies can purchase, arguing this would stop outside investors from affecting local prices. Lauren Pinkston pivoted toward a structural change, advocating for the expansion of land trusts. In her model, the government owns the land while the resident owns the home, replacing a traditional landlord with a monthly government fee to lower the barrier to entry for first-time buyers.
Jerri Green focused on the income side of the equation. Drawing on her experience as a Memphis councilwoman, Green pointed out that she had already raised wages for city and county workers to between $18 and $22 an hour. She argued that treating childcare as essential infrastructure—rather than a private luxury—is the only way to stabilize the workforce.
Candidates clash over Medicaid expansion for rural health
The most visceral policy clash centered on Medicaid expansion.
Green was unequivocal: she would accept federal Medicaid expansion funding to increase rural health care access. Hatley, running as an independent, took a more cautious approach. While he stated that all people deserve health care, he insisted on first bringing in a state auditor to investigate why the state budget is growing at twice the rate of inflation. He wants to find the money internally before committing to the expansion framework.
Pinkston shifted the conversation away from government funding and toward market consolidation. She argued against the trend of companies buying rural hospitals in Tennessee and proposed expanding the legal scope of practice for midwives and nurse practitioners to fill the gaps in care.
Public schools versus the voucher system
In a surprising moment of consensus, all three candidates opposed the expansion of Tennessee’s private school voucher program, known as Education Freedom Scholarships. The program recently grew from 20,000 to 35,000 vouchers, but the candidates argued the benefit is unevenly distributed.
Green cited a report from the Comptroller of the Treasury to argue that households earning over $100,000 a year are receiving vouchers over lower-income families. Hatley described the program as a “slap in the face” to public education, while Pinkston suggested redirecting those funds toward early childhood education and introducing Montessori and STEAM programs within the public system.
The candidates also stood united on the tech industry’s footprint. They supported a statewide moratorium on data center development, citing concerns over noise, utility costs, and the burden on local taxpayers to fund the infrastructure these tech giants require.
Law, order, and the Memphis Safe Task Force
The forum took a sharp turn when discussing the Memphis Safe Task Force, revealing deep disagreements on how to handle urban crime and immigration.
Green advocated for a swift drawdown, stating she would send the National Guard home and seek the departure of ICE, though she would keep Tennessee Highway Patrol assistance for now. Hatley disagreed, arguing the task force should remain until a replacement plan with the same foundation is established.
Pinkston offered a third path, arguing that the state’s resources are better spent on recruiting and retaining local police officers. She further argued that immigration enforcement should pivot away from individuals and toward businesses that exploit workers.
The candidates were equally split on the state’s most permanent decisions. On the death penalty, Pinkston opposed it entirely, and Green supported maintaining a moratorium due to the risk of executing innocent people. Hatley, however, argued the governor must uphold the law, provided there is a full investigation into previous execution failures.
As the forum concluded, the candidates’ approach to transparency remained a point of contention. While Pinkston and Green stayed to answer additional questions from reporters, Hatley chose to leave without further comment.
