A Southern governor outraged his constituents by inviting unhappy New Yorkers to move to his state following Zohran Mamdani’s election win in the New York City mayoral race.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee extended the invitation Wednesday on his X account.
‘In light of the recent election results, I thought it might be a good time to remind you that Tennessee is the best state in the country for doing business,’ he wrote on X.
‘If you are a New York City business owner and you don’t like the direction your city has headed, I have a message for you that Tennessee is open for business.’
Lee’s video address angered his constituents, who ripped the Republican governor’s invitation on social media.
‘Why would you welcome them to Tennessee when they’re just gonna vote for the same people?!!!’ one X user wrote.
‘If a man burns down his own house, do you invite him into yours???’ another asked.
A third added, ‘Maybe the gov should check in with his constituents! We don’t want more New Yorkers fleeing the s***hole they created and ruining TN! They should hop the northern border!’
Tennessee governor Bill Lee invited displeased New Yorkers to move to his state in a video posted Wednesday
Mamdani defeated former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to win the New York City mayoral race Tuesday
Lee claimed that his state had ‘one of the strongest economies’ in the country and touted Tennessee’s low taxes.
He said the Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development was ‘ready to help you make a move’ immediately.
‘In fact, Tennessee is one of the most moved-to states for families, for people, for companies from around the globe,’ Lee said.
‘Because we believe that opportunity and security and freedom are important for everyone.’
Tennessee was the third most popular state researched by Americans planning a move, according to a US News & World Report study.
Lee took aim at Mamdani’s policies as he extolled his state.
‘We also believe in the power of law enforcement, by the way,’ the Republican governor said.
Lee claimed that Tennessee had ‘one of the strongest economies’ in the US and touted his state’s low tax base
‘And we understand that the men and women who keep our families [and] keep our communities safe need to be supported – and we do so in our state.’
Critics of Mamdani have pointed to the New York mayor-elect’s past calls to ‘defund the police,’ as well as his comment that the ‘NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.’
The self-styled socialist said in June that he would work with the police and not defund them, as he believed law enforcement had ‘a critical role to play in creating public safety’ in New York.
That did not deter Lee from trying to persuade New Yorkers to move down south.
‘I want you to know that if you’re looking for an opportunity, you’ve found one in the state of Tennessee,’ he went on.
‘We are here: our way of life, our music, our culture, our food, our hospitality and our business-friendly environment might just be right for you.’
Tennessee was named the worst state in the US for quality of life last year by CNBC.
Mamdani is looking to raising taxes on corporations and millionaires to fund his ambitious progressive agenda that includes free buses, a rent freeze and universal free child care
The Volunteer State ranked last with an ‘F’ grade due to its high crime rate, as well as lack of worker protections and inclusiveness.
Tennessee experienced 592 violent crime incidents per 100,000 residents last year, according to the Justice Center.
This meant that its crime rate was 65 percent higher than the US average.
‘No one doing business in NEW YORK CITY is coming to Tennessee to see their business implode,’ an X user posted. ‘Yall [sic] are delusional.’
Another said: ‘I promise you nobody on God’s green earth is leaving NYC for Tennessee.’
Other Republican states have echoed Lee’s call for unhappy New Yorkers to perhaps find a new home.
‘Government doesn’t create prosperity, and residents from NYC are about to learn that the hard way,’ Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said on X.
Lee’s open invitation to discontent New Yorkers echoed other social media messages sent by Republican lawmakers
Mamdani deemed his election ‘a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics’
‘If you want to experience freedom and you want to watch your business grow, get to [Oklahoma] as soon as you can.’
New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte also used Mamdani’s election to promote her state.
She posted: ‘New Hampshire is safe, prosperous and free – what New York used to be long ago.
‘If you’re looking for lower taxes and more freedom, move your business and your jobs to the Granite State. We’d love to have you!’
Mamdani defeated former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to win the New York City mayoral race Tuesday.
More than two million people voted, marking the highest number since 1969, per the New York Board of Elections.
‘I am Muslim, I am a Democratic Socialist, and most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,’ mayor-elect said following his win.
A poll by JL Partners for the Daily Mail showed that many New Yorkers who do not support Mamdani believe he will doom the city’s economy
Mamdani based his victorious campaign around the pledge to ‘lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers’
Mamdani, who became the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest since 1892, based his campaign around the promise to ‘lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers.’
His list of promises included free buses, freezing the rents, universal free child care and a $60 million scheme to set up government-run grocery stores that he says will be exempt from paying rent or property taxes.
Mamdani wants to fund those policies, which will cost billions of dollars, by raising taxes on corporations and millionaires.
There would be a two percent increase on New Yorkers earning over $1 million a year, and the top corporate tax rate would rise from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent to emulate neighboring New Jersey.
On Tuesday, Mamdani called his election ‘a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford and a mandate for a government that does exactly that.’
A poll by JL Partners for the Daily Mail showed that many New Yorkers who do not support Mamdani believe he will ‘destroy’ America’s biggest metropolis and tank its economy.
Asked for one word to describe what New York City would be like after four years of his left-wing policies, the most common response from non-Mamdani voters was ‘disaster’ and also included ‘chaos,’ ‘hell,’ ‘broken’ and a ‘s***hole.’
