Republican candidates for Tennessee governor aren't wasting much time in taking aim at each other.
In the first candidate forum since joining the race, U.S. Rep. Diane Black criticized Republicans in Nashville as "too weak or too meek."
Rival candidate Beth Harwell, the state House speaker from Nashville, responded that state Republicans under her leadership have engaged in effective governance — which she contrasted with the current state of affairs in Washington.
Black is the chair of the House Budget Committee, and her opponents are expected to try to tie her leadership role to the failure of efforts to repeal former President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
Candidate Mae Beavers, a state senator from Mt. Juliet, voiced her opposition to a recent gas tax increase that Harwell voted for.
