Boyd, Black trade barbs in new TV ads
A flurry of new gubernatorial ads began hitting Tennessee’s airwaves this week, with U.S. Rep. Diane Black and Knoxville entrepreneur Randy Boyd — both of whom are seeking the Republican nomination — trading barbs on everything from immigration and support for the president to guns.
Days after Black attacked him as a moderate, Boyd released a series of new ads, including one referring to the congressman as “D.C. Diane.”
The ad features video of Katie Couric asking four congressmen, including Black, about then-candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the southern border of the United States and making Mexico pay for it.
After some laughter, the ad captures Black saying, “First of all you can’t build a wall. That won’t work.”
A narrator calls Black “D.C. Diane, a typical 20-year career politician who says one thing in Tennessee but does another in D.C.”
The ad points to Black’s vote on an appropriations bill to say the congressman voted against funding border security and her vote while in the state legislature that made it easier for immigrants who entered the country illegally to get driver’s licenses.
Black’s votes on such issues were the subject of attacks in a separate TV ad paid for by a third-party political action committee, which supports Boyd.
Black responded to those claims, releasing an ad this week that features a Putnam County sheriff who says before Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement asked lawmakers to regulate all drivers on the road, including citizens and non-citizens.
“Diane listened to law enforcement,” says Sheriff Eddie Farris, adding that Black later led an effort to change the 2001 law.
Boyd’s latest ad also says Black voted to give former President Barack Obama a “blank check for amnesty,” citing a 2014 bill in Congress that appears to be related to budget appropriations.
The ad, dubbed “The Real D.C. Diane,” was paid for by Boyd’s campaign.
Speaking to a group of college Republicans in April, Boyd said he was “not for negative ads.”
“Randy is running a positive campaign and sharing his vision for Tennessee as a conservative businessman with a strong track record on key issues — but when falsely attacked, we will always defend ourselves,” Boyd campaign spokeswoman Laine Arnold said Friday.
In a separate ad, which began airing on television this week and dubbed “False Attacks,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee defends Boyd.
“Professional politicians and special interests falsely attack their opponents so they can try to hang on to power,” said Huckabee, who last week endorsed Boyd.
Huckabee notes in the ad that Boyd voted for Trump in the 2016 election, attended his inauguration and continues to support the president’s agenda to “keep America safe and disrupt government as usual.”
“Heck, I ran against President Trump in the primary, but we all moved forward to defeat Hillary Clinton and make America great again,” Huckabee says.
Responding to the latest ads, Chris Hartline, a spokesman for Black’s campaign, called Boyd and fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee “moderates” who were left with no other option but to attack Black, whom he called the true conservative, with lies.
In a separate new ad, Boyd recruits his cousin, Fred Boyd — the owner of a gun store — to talk about the Knoxville entrepreneur’s support of the Second Amendment.
“Let’s not miss the mark on this one,” Fred Boyd says in the ad as he and his cousin shoot their handguns at a nearby target.
Separately, Black also began airing ads questioning Boyd’s stance on guns, while raising issue with his company’s decision to hire a lobbyist that would “make hunting illegal.”
The ad cites a decision by Radio Systems Corp., Boyd’s company, to hire a former Humane Society of the United States lobbyist.
The latest ads come just days after Black attacked him and Lee, a Williamson County businessman, calling them moderates in her latest TV spot.
Black’s 30-second ad was the first one in the race paid for by a candidate that attacked others running to succeed Gov. Bill Haslam.
Lee also debuted two new ads recently in which he touts his credentials as an outsider, likening himself to Trump, and talks about his faith.
None of the recent attack ads have mentioned House Speaker Beth Harwell, who also is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
The flurry of new ads from the candidates come just ahead of July 13, when early voting begins.
The primary election is Aug. 2.