Another candidate has officially thrown their hat into Tennessee's 2018 gubernatorial race.
State Senator Mae Beavers announced her plans to run for governor in front of a few hundred supporters Saturday afternoon in Mt. Juliet.
During her speech, she spoke about terrorism being her top priority to combat.
"The terrorist threat from radical Islam not only impacts other countries or major cities in our own country, that threat is also targeted at our communities and our families in Tennessee, and I intend to make security a centerpiece of my campaign,"she said.
Other issues she has planned to cover in her campaign included protecting family values, support for the transgender bathroom ban, the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, insuring Tennessee taxpayers will get the biggest tax break, and repealing the state's gas tax increase.
"Over the past several weeks, it has become increasingly clear that conservatives in Tennessee are looking for bold leadership that will not shrink from standing up and speaking up on the key issues facing our state," Beavers said.
There were a few dozen protesters at Saturday's announcement.
Some held signs with the slogan #BlockedByMae referring to the claims that the candidate blocks Twitter followers and deletes messages from people she disagrees with on her private social media account.
After her speech, Beavers answered media questions about her platform, state and national issues, and social media interactions on Twitter.
On the topic of her private Twitter account and decisions to block people who she does not agree with the candidate said, "That's my private Twitter account and people were being abusive. So yes, I am accepting the people that I want to accept right now, but we will have a campaign Twitter account that we will use during the campaign that will be open."
When asked if she's a Predators fan, Beavers said, "go Preds," but she does not follow hockey. She said other young members in her family have been intently rooting on the hockey team.
Beavers planned to attend another campaign event in Cumberland County Saturday night.
