Governor of Tennessee
Dave Seeman
CandidateIndependent
- Race
- Governor of Tennessee
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- Marsha Blackburn (R); Jerri Green (D); David Hatley (Independent); Lauren Pinkston (Independent); Misam Abidi (Independent); Dean Brewer (Independent); Ray Brown (Independent); Wendell Jackson (Independent); Charles Van Morgan (Independent); Eddie Lee Murphy (Independent); Victor L. Scoggin (Independent); Karl Knox Smithson (Independent); L. Webb Taylor (Independent); Robert C. Vick (Independent)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did7 statements · 0 votes
Require background checks on every firearm sale, require safe storage when kids are in the home, and create a court-ordered process for temporarily removing firearms from someone in crisis.
Stricter gun laws
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotGovernor
2026-11-03
| Marsha Blackburn R | challenger |
| Jerri Green D | challenger |
| David Hatley Independent | challenger |
| Lauren Pinkston Independent | challenger |
| Misam Abidi Independent | challenger |
| Dean Brewer Independent | challenger |
| Ray Brown Independent | challenger |
| Wendell Jackson Independent | challenger |
| Charles Van Morgan Independent | challenger |
| Eddie Lee Murphy Independent | challenger |
| Victor L. Scoggin Independent | challenger |
| Dave Seeman Independent | challenger |
| Karl Knox Smithson Independent | challenger |
| L. Webb Taylor Independent | challenger |
| Robert C. Vick Independent | challenger |
Independent; qualified by petition.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Require background checks on every firearm sale, require safe storage when kids are in the home, and create a court-ordered process for temporarily removing firearms from someone in crisis.
His platform proposes universal background checks, safe-storage requirements and a court process to temporarily remove firearms from someone in crisis.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Repeal the laws that force every Tennessee sheriff to act as a federal immigration agent, so officers can focus on the cases their communities actually need them on.
His platform proposes repealing Tennessee laws that require sheriffs to act on federal immigration enforcement.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We'll also make it legal to build a duplex.
His platform proposes allowing duplexes by right.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We'll require worldwide combined reporting and restore the franchise tax base the legislature gave away in 2024, redesigned to hold up in court, so every corporation profiting in Tennessee pays its share.
His platform proposes worldwide combined reporting for multistate corporations and restoring the franchise tax base, to pay for ending the grocery tax.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Cover Tennessee's poorest adults now through a federal waiver, and expand TennCare fully the day Washington confirms that expanding won't cut the hospital fund.
His platform proposes covering poor adults through a federal waiver and fully expanding TennCare once federal funding is confirmed.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Repeal Tennessee's private school voucher and spend every dollar of it on the working conditions that decide whether good teachers stay in the schools that lose them fastest.
His platform proposes repealing Tennessee's private school voucher program.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Raise Tennessee's minimum wage to $21 an hour over four years, starting at $12 the first year, and let cities set their own wage floors above the state level.
His platform proposes raising Tennessee's minimum wage from $12 to $21 an hour over four years.[3]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Dave Seeman of Nashville is an independent candidate for governor, endorsed by the Green Party of Tennessee, who qualified by petition. An engineer and business owner who co-founded a product design firm, he is making his first run for office after working as a climate activist. His campaign centers on a policy document he calls The Volunteer Plan.[1][2]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Seeman grew up in Franklin and lives in Nashville.[2] He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and spent most of his career at the product design firm he co-founded, which he says became an award-winning firm that kept its employees on with benefits through COVID.[2] Before running for office he was a climate activist who lobbied other candidates to make climate action central to their campaigns.[2]
Seeman filed his petition from Nashville on March 9, 2026, and the Secretary of State recorded its signatures as approved.[1] He says he built The Volunteer Plan the way he designed medical devices, by interviewing Tennesseans and compiling data into a costed, budget-balanced package of policies.[2] Its education proposals include repealing the Education Freedom Scholarship program and redirecting $144 million a year into public schools.[1] Seeman describes his campaign as "no party, no pacs, just an engineer building better government, by design."[1]
In their own words
Priorities
- Climate action, including state-owned renewable power, public transportation and support for farmers.[4]
- Economic stability: ending the state grocery tax, a higher minimum wage and permanently affordable housing.[4][3]
- Funding for children and families, including ending school vouchers and covering childcare for incomes under $99,000.[4]
- Government accountability: audits of state programs over $25 million, open data and independent redistricting.[4][3]
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Protect legal access to abortion
“Making abortions illegal doesn't stop them. It makes them costlier, riskier, and later, the opposite of what the law claimed to protect.”[3]
On his campaign platform page, under 'Restore Medical Privacy'
- Faster transition away from fossil fuels
“We'll also take gas fueling stations and gas-fired heat and power plants off the state's certified green energy list, including existing certifications, so that neither gets tax breaks reserved for clean energy.”[3]
On his campaign platform page
- Universal, publicly funded child care
“Cover childcare costs for every working Tennessee family earning up to $99,000, with parents free to choose center-based, home-based, or faith-based providers.”[3]
On his campaign platform page
- Broad tariffs on imported goods
“provide tariff buffer grants so trade disruptions don't wipe out Tennessee farmers.”[3]
On his campaign platform page
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/dave-seeman
Compare all 15 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Dave Seeman · The Tennessee Firefly News report
- 2.Dave Seeman · Nashville Banner · 2026-10-12 News report
- 3.The Volunteer Plan · Seeman for Governor campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 4.Dave Seeman for Governor of Tennessee · Seeman for Governor campaign website · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words