I respect politicians who believe what they say and do what they believe; regardless of whether I agree with them. What matters is consistency and honesty. From what I have seen of Monty Fritts in the race for governor, he fits that standard.

Fritts does not dodge questions. He answers them, even the difficult ones and even when the tone is rude. If he does not know the answer, he simply says so and notes that he needs to look into it. He has done this throughout his time in the Tennessee House.

He does not talk around issues or invent responses to protect a narrative.

He is not a party politician driven by the status quo or lobbyists. He has declined PAC dollars in this gubernatorial campaign. Most tellingly, he regularly grounds his positions in the Tennessee Constitution, often citing the specific article and section that shapes his view. That level of constitutional literacy is rare and valuable.

Fritts does not hide from tough conversations. He moves toward them. He is willing to say things that may cost him support because he believes them to be true based on the information he has. Even on points where I disagree with him, I can tell he is giving a straightforward answer rather than a calculated one.

In an era when many elected officials prioritize messaging over clarity, a candidate who simply answers the question is refreshing. That is the quality I want in a governor. I encourage voters to look past the noise and examine Fritts’s record and approach for themselves.

Andrew Jones