Ex-Tennessee GOP Chair: Harwell Running For Governor

NASHVILLE, TN — A former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party posted on Facebook that House Speaker Beth Harwell has decided to run for governor in 2018, but Harwell is staying mum.

Susan Richardson Williams, a former Tennessee Republican Party chairwoman, posted that Harwell called her to say she'd decided to run to succeed the term-limited Bill Haslam.

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Harwell confirmed to reporters that she has been making calls to potenital supporters, but that she won't make a decision until after she gavels the legislature out of session later this spring.

Thus far, State Sen. Mark Green and former Haslam economic and community development commissioner and businessman Randy Boyd have formally entered the race. Green has been rumored to be President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Army.