Jim Kyle’s End Of Session Gubernatorial Announcement

By Kleinheider Posted on May 4, 2009 at 6:48 am

It seems pretty clear what it’s going to be. Jackson Baker reveals that all signals point to a Jim Kyle candidacy for governor:

The nature of that announcement seemed clear enough as he expounded on his likely strategy. “I’m going to build a wall around Memphis,” said Kyle, who had previously floated trial balloons for both a gubernatorial race and one for Shelby County mayor. As he clarified his metaphor, it became obvious which way he intended to go.

“I’m going to build a wall around Memphis,” he repeated, “and then work hard on the rest of the state.” Which is a fairly definite way of saying that, with no other Democrats from Shelby County seeking the governorship, he intends to consolidate home-base support as a first step toward running statewide.

Kyle was asked: Is fellow Shelby Countian Bill Gibbons able to build a similar wall? “Nope,” he said firmly, “not with Brad Martin raising money for Bill Haslam.” Martin, a former state representative and Memphis-based entrepreneur, is one of the state’s high-stakes political players; Haslam, an oil-company scion and the mayor of Knoxville, is favored by many observers to win the GOP nomination.

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Tags: 2010 Governor's race, Jim Kyle  

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