See the former jobs of the governor of Tennessee
In 2018, 36 out of the nation's 50 states held elections for governor. A record-shattering 16 women were major party nominees the position, nine of whom were successful, making the current number of female governors tied with the all-time high number set in 2004. The LGBTQ+ community also made historic strides, as Colorado's Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor in the United States, and Oregon's Kate Brown, who is bisexual, was reelected in her state.
Fast forward to the 2022 elections, and 36 states will once again elect—or reelect— their governors. But who are these powerful politicians, and what were they doing before they took their states' reigns?
Stacker analyzed the former roles every current governor had before taking office and found varying resumes, from positions as cabinet secretaries to the CEO of an ice cream company. Read on to find out where your state's governor developed and honed the leadership skills that propelled them to public office or check out the national story here.
Bill Lee (R-Tennessee)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee returned home after graduating college to work for the Lee Company, a family business that his grandfather had started to provide mechanical construction services. Lee eventually became president of the company in 1992 and also served as chair of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
While all 50 governors bring with them experiences from different walks of life, some share several commonalities. A total of four current governors have served in the military, and 15 were at one point the lieutenant governor of their states. Eleven governors previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, while just one was a former U.S. senator.
Keep reading below to see the former jobs of governors of other states in your region.
Alabama
Though Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey grew up working on her family's farm, she became a high school teacher after graduating from Auburn University in 1967, and then became a bank officer before starting her career in politics. In 2002, she was elected to the position of state treasurer and successfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2010, where she was the first Republican woman to hold the role in the state's history.
Arkansas
Before Asa Hutchinson was governor of Arkansas, he practiced law in the state. He was nominated by then-President Ronald Reagan to serve as a U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas at the age of 31, making him the youngest U.S. Attorney in the country. From 1997 to 2001, Hutchinson served as a member of Congress before President George W. Bush named him director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and eventually the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security.
