Bitter Party Of One

By Kleinheider Posted on December 28, 2008 at 10:39 pm

Outgoing 1st District congressman David Davis on what he would have done differently during his short tenure in the House:

“In the primary, I was talking primarily to Republicans, as you would think.” But he said he continues to believe there was “a concerted effort by Democrats crossing over into the Republican primary” to try to unseat him.

“I wish I had paid more attention to that, and gotten more Republicans out to the polls,” he said. “That’s what swayed the outcome.”

Davis said two different polling companies put him 13 points ahead “among Republicans” the week before the primary. The same companies had similar results just before the 2006 election, he said.

This time the polls were wrong, and Davis thinks they were wrong at least in part because of Democrats who voted in the GOP primary.

“A lot of it goes back to the income tax,” he said. Davis said some “moderate Republicans” may still hold a grudge against him for repeatedly opposing a state income tax on wages and salaries while he was in the Tennessee legislature.

Davis hired a Virginia attorney with top connections in the Republican party immediately after the election, but then did not pursue a challenge to the outcome of the primary.

Asked if he might consider another try at elective office, Davis said, “It’s too early to tell.”

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Tags: 1st District, Davis Davis, open primary, Phil Roe  

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