Lipscomb graduate runs for governor of Tennessee

With the 2010 gubernatorial election approaching this fall, 1979 Lipscomb graduate Bayron Binkley has begun to hit the campaign trail.

Binkley said dating back to his days at Lipscomb, he has always had a desire to get involved in politics.

“Being a political science major in college, you always had that kind of fire of wanting to do something,” Binkley said.  “I guess it was probably the tail end of the presidential election when I started to think hard about it.  Then about a year-and-a-half ago we actually started going through the motions of making that happen.”

Binkley, a Middle Tennessee native, announced his intent to run for office earlier this year.  Well-known by many in the Lipscomb community, he has had numerous ties to both the campus school and university.  His wife, Patricia, has taught at David Lipscomb Middle School for the last 19 years.  Also, all three of Binkley’s sons attended Lipscomb University, including Dale, who currently is enrolled as a junior.

Binkley will run as an independent in next fall’s election using the slogan, “An independent voice…an independent choice for Tennessee.”  Although running as an independent will give Binkley freedom in choosing his platform, he said there are some challenges that come with not having the support from a party.

“From the media standpoint, if you don’t have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ next to your name you are going to get very little coverage,” Binkley said. “They basically have deemed that if you don’t have that ‘D’ or ‘R’ beside your name that you are probably not worthy or a viable candidate.  That is a big challenge.”

He also said without the machine of a major party backing you, raising money for the campaign is also a difficult endeavor.  However, Binkley said he plans to use being an Independent to his advantage in the upcoming months.

“The candidates of the parties, as I call them, they have primaries in August,” Binkley said.  “Several of them will no longer be running for governor.  As an Independent you are able to run through the general election in November.  So you have a longer period of time to be out there getting your message across, raising money and campaigning.”

While in school at Lipscomb, Binkley was an active member of the College Republicans.  As an alumnus, Binkley continues to give back to the school.  He helped start the David Lipscomb High School Football Radio Network and currently supports Lipscomb University Athletics as a member in the National Bison Club.

Binkley said his experiences while attending Lipscomb helped shape him into the man he is today.

“The influences of your teachers, influences of the people around you help develop who you are,” Binkley said.  “Who I am today, I can go back and say the influences of my parents, my grandparents and my days at Lipscomb.

“I would say that Lipscomb had a great influence on determining who I am and what I am.”

For more information regarding his campaign visit The Official Web Site for Bayron Binkley.