Former Tennessee state Senator Mae
Beavers on Tuesday suspended her campaign for governor of Tennessee.
“Today after much deliberation, I am
suspending my campaign for the office of governor of the great state
of Tennessee,” Beavers, who was seeking the GOP gubernatorial
nomination, said in a Facebook post.
“After criss-crossing the state and
meeting thousands of fellow Tennesseans, it was not a light decision
to make because you have embraced our conservative message
whole-heartedly,” she added.
Beavers thanked supporters and said
that she would retire from politics.
According to the Tennessean,
Beavers' campaign, which kicked off in June, was plagued with
financial woes.
A staunch conservative, Beavers, who
served in the Senate since 2002, last year introduced bills that
sought to restrict transgender bathroom access and ban same-sex
marriage in Tennessee. In February, Beavers and Rep. Mark Pody, also
a Republican, walked out of their own press conference rather than
face protesters opposed to their marriage bill.
(Related: TN
Republicans walk out of presser about gay marriage ban bill.)