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The Blount County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner on Thursday brought out almost 400 people to hear all three Republican gubernatorial candidates speak.

Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp all brought their messages to the local party. They are seeking the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor. A fourth candidate, Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons, dropped out of the race on March 26, citing a lack of donations.

According to Ramsey, creating employment is the biggest issue in the state at the moment. “It's jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.

The state's revenue problems are not going to be easy to fix, Ramsey said. “We are not going to tax our way out of it. We're not going to spend our way out of it. ... The only way we're going to get out of it is grow our way out of it, and you do that by promoting small business. ... Small business is going to be what drives us.”

Government can best serve the small-business community by avoiding over-regulation, Ramsey said. “What do I want from the government as a small businessman? Nothing. Leave me alone, get out of my way, and I'll create the jobs in the state of Tennessee.”

Ramsey said he helped fight the establishment of a state income tax in the early part of the decade. “I've got blood on the floor on this issue,” he said. “... We drove a stake through the heart of the income tax.”

Wamp proclaimed his fidelity to conservative principles. If the Republican Party regains leadership in Washington, D.C., it will have to act according to true conservative principles, he said. “If we don't do it right this time, there is going to be a widespread third party in this country, because we have got to become a more conservative party.”

Wamp said there is a conflict coming between the states and the federal government that will require strong governors. “It is going to take pushing back the federal government and taking on the federal government that has become way too onerous.”

As governor, Wamp said he would emphasize “a more educated Tennessee. We're near the bottom and haven't moved. We don't need a status quo governor.”

Making sure that children can read well by the time they reach third grade is vital for the future of Tennessee, Wamp said. “If we improve education in our state, we will be a job state like nobody.”

Helping improve the health of Tennessee's citizens is also vital, Wamp said. “We are near the bottom in health. We've got too many 13-year-olds on high blood pressure medicine.”

Haslam said the next governor would benefit from business experience. “Our next governor is going to have the hardest job of any governor ever. I really think our challenges as a state are that great.”

The state will lose $1.2 billion in funding by the time the next governor is in office, he said. “You could raise taxes, but that is 100 percent the wrong idea. ... Our only alternative is to attack the expense side of state government.”

The task will not be easy, Haslam said. “There will not be $1.2 billion worth of easy cuts.”

The next governor needs to be fiscally responsible and know how to make the hard choices, Haslam said.

Haslam said that his business background will be needed with the state near 11 percent unemployment, and that the state's business community needs to be supported. “We can compete with anybody. We have a wonderful competitive advantage in Tennessee.”