care reform legislation proposals including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sponsoring instead the Tennessee Health Freedom Act in order to protect "a citizen's right to participate, or not participate, in any healthcare system". In September 2015, Beavers proposed bill SB1437, known as the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, to ban same-sex marriage in Tennessee despite the Supreme Court's decision to legalize it. Her colleague in the House, Mark Pody, proposed a similar bill. After just 90 minutes of testimony, the House Civil Justice Committee rejected that bill. Had the bill passed, it would have cost Tennessee upwards of $8.5 billion in federal funding, in addition to millions of dollars in legal bills, mostly impacting programs that support Tennessee families in need such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In the next legislative session, Beavers and Pody reintroduced the bill, with specific language that no court decision (presumably including those of the Supreme Court of the United States) would affect it. 2018 gubernatorial and mayoral elections Beavers started her campaign for governor of Tennessee on June 3, 2017. She was the fourth Republican to announce his or her candidacy. In July 2017, Beavers' campaign raised $36,000. Her campaign was the third-most funded Republican campaign. The top two most-funded Republican campaigns were businessman Randy Boyd ($2.3 million) and businessman Bill Lee ($1.37 million). On August 23, 2017, Beavers announced she would resign her spot in the state senate to focus fully on her campaign. Mark Pody won a special election to assume Beavers' senate seat. On January 30, 2018, Beavers announced that she would be stepping out of the 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial race. In March 2018, Beavers announced her candidacy in the Wilson County mayoral election. She was defeated in this race, and was elected chair of the Wilson County Republican Party the following year. Personal life Beavers is married to Jerry Beavers, with whom she has two children. They attend Music City Baptist Church. References External links Tennessee General Assembly: Mae Beavers Mae Beavers at Ballotpedia 1947 births Living people People from Lamar County, Alabama Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Republican Party Tennessee state senators Trevecca Nazarene University alumni Women state legislators in Tennessee 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians