All Haslam Will Say About Republican Presidential Field Is That He Likes Governors

Multiple audiences have asked Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam who he supports in the presidential race, and he’s reiterated that he won’t endorse at the moment because he’s chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

“I have a little bias toward governors, obviously,” Haslam told leaders in the aluminum industry gathered in Nashville on Tuesday.

He does say he’s watched every minute of both the GOP and Democratic debates and disliked the focus on scoring political points.

“What a horrible way to decide who should be in the most important job in the world,” Haslam said. “The entertainment factor is going to go away really quick when there’s real decisions to be made. And I think my frustration with the current political process is that the questions are all wrong.”

The questions should be about what candidates have done, and specifically who they’ve hired to do important jobs, Haslam said. While he likes governors, there are at least a half-dozen still in the race, even after Rick Perry of Texas and Scott Walker of Wisconsin dropped out.

Haslam has made joint appearances with several candidates in the last few years, including New Jersey’s Chris Christie. As recently as this month, Haslam introduced Jeb Bush at a campaign stop in Knoxville.