Blackburn Tried To Talk Primary Challenger Out Of A Run

By Kleinheider Posted on May 12, 2008 at 8:01 am

Andy Meek reports that Rep. Marsha Blackburn offered to give her primary challenger Tom Leatherwood an opportunity to get a leg up on the competition when and if she declines to run someday rather than take her on in the primary this year:

That line in the sand Leatherwood has drawn also promises to make the Republican primary for Blackburn’s seat, which will be decided by voters on the Aug. 7 ballot, a closely watched race. And the incumbent apparently isn’t taking anything for granted, because she gave Leatherwood a phone call about his rumored candidacy a couple of months ago, before he’d even formally entered the race.

“She called me, like, the day before Easter,” he said. “She had heard I was thinking about it. She left a message, and I called her back. I did ask her if she would consider not running. … She talked about how she hoped I wouldn’t run, that I could tour the district with her, that I could get to know the district, which could help me potentially in a future run.

“Of course, she let me know she was running. But for the good of the party, I wish she had not (run).”

permalink

Tags: behind the scenes maneuvering, Marsha Blackburn, Tom Leatherwood  

Comments