Carnita Atwater

Taxes / Budget Corporate Minimum Tax: Implements a corporate minimum tax to ensure companies with over billion in income pay their share, as reports show many currently pay zero or less in excise taxes. Education As the next Governor of the State of Tennessee, I will implement a statewide "Pre-K for All" agenda. "Pre-K for All" in Memphis and Shelby County is an initiative (effective Fall 2025) providing free, high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten to all three and four-year-olds regardless of family income, administered by First 8 Memphis. Housing As the next potential Governor of the State of Tennessee, I will stop the hemorrhage of Tennesseans losing their family homes and being displaced from their traditional neighborhoods by aggressive, rich investors, developers, and greedy politicians signing on to this economic and housing genocide. Healthcare Change the poor trajectory of the quality of care rural mothers and babies are receiving. Health care should be a human right. Housing As the next potential Governor of the State of Tennessee, my main priority is to end hunger and improve health outcomes for vulnerable communities across the State of Tennessee, especially the rural counties that have been neglected for too long. Education Voluntary Pre-K (VPK): This state-funded, free program targets 4-year-olds, prioritizing those with at-risk factors, such as being economically disadvantaged. Education Eligibility & Enrollment: Children must be 4 years old on or before the state cutoff date, and priority is given to those who qualify as economically disadvantaged, have special needs, or are in foster care. Taxes / Budget Grocery Tax Relief: Eliminates the 4% sales tax on food and food ingredients for home consumption. Environment / Energy I am committed to balancing the scales of justice for farmers, farmland, forestry, wetlands, and natural terrains across the State of Tennessee. I know the pros and cons of the USDA and the Farm Bureau Agency, which has caused many farmers to fold and lose their family farms. Economy As the next potential Governor of the State of Tennessee, no citizen in rural Tennessee should be living in a third-world country without running water, modern electricity, food accessibility, healthcare, mental health counseling, drug counseling, and low, livable wages. Economy I will address poverty, inequality, systemic racism, rural hospital closures, farmland neglect, discriminatory governmental policies, housing and health care disparities, criminal inequities, the genocide of women's reproductive rights, voting rights atrocities, and environmental injustice. Taxes / Budget Fund Outcomes, Not Departments: Move away from merely increasing last year's spending, and instead build the budget from the ground up by focusing on the desired future results for residents (e.g., improved literacy rates). Abortion / Contraception No woman should be denied accessibility to reproductive rights. Taxes / Budget Revenue Offsets: Funds the tax cut by closing loopholes that allow multinational corporations to shelter profits overseas.