Very Slightly, I Would Say
Posted on May 1, 2009 at 3:10 pmThe Washington Post says the chances of the Democrat’s holding the executive residence in Tennessee has improved:
6. Tennessee (D): Democrats’ chances of holding the Tennessee governorship improved slightly last week when Mike McWherter, the son of legendary Volunteer State Governor Ned Ray McWherter, announced he would seek the state’s top office. Thanks to his well-known last name, McWherter is the favorite in the Democratic primary although it remains to be seen how good a candidate he will be in his own right. Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam remains the frontrunner for the GOP nod and would start a general election with an advantage over any of the Democratic candidates. (Previous ranking: 5)
UPDATE: So do you agree? Is Mike Wherter the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination?
Loading ...Jim Kyle’s Ittie Bittie Twittie Gubernatorial Exploratory Committee
Posted on April 25, 2009 at 3:26 pmSen. Jim Kyle, oft-mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, makes veiled reference to his pondering:
Herron A Go For Guv
Posted on April 8, 2009 at 7:07 amKen Whitehouse reports that the state senator representing some of the most economically distressed areas of the state is running for governor:
The word that has come down from on high – well, at least the 16th floor of the Nashville City Center – is that State Sen. Roy Herron (D-Dresden) is running for governor.
Herron’s name had been widely circulated in the Democratic ranks as being on the verge of throwing his hat into the 2010 governor’s race. According to several NashvillePost.com sources that were in the room, Herron said that he is definitely a candidate.
SEE ALSO: Newscoma
Gibbons Plays Up Alexander Connect With Nashville Conservative
Posted on April 4, 2009 at 8:19 pmTruman Bean reports from a meeting with gubernatorial candidate Bill Gibbons and a few of Nashville’s conservative bloggers. The Shelby County DA served as a special assistant to Alexander during his tenure as governor:
The constant theme and comparison that seemed to run throughout his intro and later interaction with the questioners, was highlighting the similarities and politically common roots of his friend, Senator Alexander. At first glance, It seems like a careful and well thought theme in which will surely be played well and often over the next year.
UPDATE: Matthew Hurtt was also pleased with the presentation
Sen. Kyle Says Ramsey Can Resign If He Doesn’t Like Fundraising Rules
Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:20 amThe Memphis state Senator on the Lt. Governor’s complains about not being able to raise funds for gubernatorial race during session:
“The governor himself can raise money,” Lt. Gov. Ramsey said. “If you’re a sitting congressman you can raise money. Why shouldn’t someone in the legislature, if they’re running for an office, also be able to raise money?”
Sen. Kyle said he agrees with the lieutenant governor to “an extent.” But he pointed out that Sen. Ramsey and Senate Republicans opposed changing state law several years ago to allow two Democratic House members running in special Senate elections to raise funds back home.
“I’m not necessarily supportive based on the positions he and other Republicans have taken over the years,” Sen. Kyle said.
“Ron has a simple remedy,” Sen. Kyle said, recalling how his wife resigned a judgeship to run for the then-state Public Service Commission. “There’s no rule that Ron has to be in the Senate.”
Asked about Lt. Gov. Ramsey’s remarks, Mr. Haslam, a declared candidate, grinned and said, “I’m not worried about Ron. He’ll be OK. I’m assuming they put the law in for a lot of reasons, and I don’t know that I even have an opinion on that. Selfishly, I like it the way it is now.”
But he said, “If they’re going to change it, they need to go back and review why it was put in place in the first place.”
Additional commentary on the issue here.
Andy Berke’s Toolbox
Posted on January 11, 2009 at 8:18 pmThe state Senator from Hamilton County (and prospective candidate for Governor) reflects on the change in the balance of power at Legislative Plaza:
Since the election, Republicans have rightly been crowing about the opportunities they now have at hand. Many of the issues they cite, however, seem far from the challenges that my constituents face.
As we face the new year, every Tennessean I know is going to bed tonight, and every night, deeply worried over the basics: their jobs, their children’s education, and their safety in cities and communities where basic human want is rising precipitously.
If there is one fundamental, philosophical divide between Democrats and Republicans in our Legislature, it is over state government’s role in addressing these concerns. If you’re struggling in this economy, Republicans believe you’re on your own.
Democrats view things differently. Democrats believe we should use the tools of government to provide a platform of equal opportunity for all. While each individual’s success ultimately is his or her own responsibility, Democrats believe each individual’s likelihood of success will grow if we come together to provide good schools, safe neighborhoods, sound infrastructure and a clean environment.
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Republican Legislators Will Shape The Gubernatorial Race
Posted on January 8, 2009 at 6:55 amSo says the Times Free Press:
How Republicans use their new power to refashion legislative priorities over the next two years, however, is likely to become the more pertinent factor in the 2010 election. GOP legislative leaders are already suggest-ing they will focus on contesting Gov. Phil Bredesen’s policies and budget priorities.
If they create exaggerated partisan reasons to do battle with the popular Democratic governor, as they have been prone to do the past six years, they won’t do their guberna-torial chances much good. Gov. Bredesen’s excellent fiscal and policy stewardship has simply been too outstanding for Republicans to make points by picking at his administra-tion.
Yet it seems almost certain that will be their path.
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‘Nooga Website Says Frist Not Running For Governor
Posted on January 3, 2009 at 2:34 pmI got some plans to go away after. So for me, it’s worth the stretch. But, Elaine takes good care of you. You got plenty put away. T-bonds; real estate. If I were you, I’d be smart and cut loose of this.
~ Neil McCauley in Heat (1995)
Chattanoogan.com reports that according to “high Republican sources” Bill Frist will not run for Governor in 2010.
This follows a blog post by Jeff Woods earlier in the week which revealed Frist’s lack of a “fire in the belly” for statewide politics and gave voice to a growing feeling among the political intelligentsia in the state that Frist would ultimately demur from a race that is his to win.
Given the source, Post Politics is not prepared to assert with certainty that a decision has been made but the report is certainly not inconsistent with the way things seem to be heading.
If the call has been made, Senator Frist has made a wise decision. With the economy in despair and the state budget suffering from a lack of revenue in a political climate where any kind of comprehensive tax reform is political suicide, the next Governor will have his hands full.
Let’s be frank, one of the chief reasons (and possibly the only reason) Bill Frist would want to make a run for Governor would be to set himself up for a run for President.
While the official reason Frist left the Senate in 2006 was that he was fulfilling a commitment to self-imposed term limits, most political observers understand that he left the Senate because he was going to mount a Presidential campaign.
Visits to Iowa and New Hampshire were made and an apparatus was constructed. Ultimately, Frist failed to pull the trigger on the campaign and was prudent to do so. George W. Bush was clearly on the downslope of popularity and it was painfully obvious that a Republican would have an uphill climb capturing the Presidency in 2008 — especially a Republican so tied to the Bush Administration’s agenda.
Instead of running on the inertia of ambition and running a failed campaign possibly ruining his chances at the presidency forever, Frist decided to put off the Presidency and the take time to get clean of the Bush stink and preserve his viability for the future. It was a smart decision and one few ambitious pols would have made.
If Frist has decided to eschew the Gubernatorial race in 2010, he has made a similarly astute decision. While coming back home and getting elected Governor would be superficially good image-wise there are other variables that need be considered.
One is the timing. It’s off.
A 2012 presidential race is out. To make that run, Frist would essentially have to step off the inaugural platform at Legislative Plaza in 2011 and start running for President. Not only would it look bad, he would have no record off accomplishment in the state to run on. Just a title. His true resume would still be heavily Washington and heavily Bush-related.
Now, it is possible that Barack Obama could be a disastrous President and leave an opening for a Republican in 2012. Possible, but unlikely. But even if a Republican was going to have a chance, a candidate who could be reasonably seen as a restorer of the Bush legacy would not be the way for the GOP to go.
So, if Frist were to win the 2010 governor’s race, he would be looking at at least a term and some change before the 2016 race to succeed Obama starting getting dialed up. This, once again, brings us back to the state of the State and how feasible it will be for a Republican Governor to come out of a first term in 2014 smelling like a rose.
We have a poor economy that is not looking to recover anytime soon and a state budget with a revenue problem. Drastic spending cuts will hurt and tax increases will meet with blank stares in the new Republican General Assembly.
Now, if I were Frist I would look at this landscape and let the field of Haslam, Wamp and Gibbons fight it out for whomever the Democrats nominate to take the fall.
To follow the relative successful reign of Phil Bredesen with the economy in the shape that it is will be a daunting task. Frist is still a young man and there are other ways to get free of the yoke of the Bush legacy. That’s, of course, assuming Frist has the Presidential bug that bad anymore anyway.
Frist made a smart decision in 2006 backing away from a run for President. If this report is true, he has made another one — not just for himself but for the state of Tennessee. Among the candidates for Governor, all really want to be Governor for its own sake and at least one may even have the capacity to govern the state through what will be a difficult time.
Again, assuming the report is accurate, Frist has done a good thing in clearing a path.
UPDATE: The official Frist statement bowing out of the race.
SEE ALSO:
Jackson Baker
10,000 Monkeys and a Camera
The Democratic Other
Posted on December 17, 2008 at 8:01 amA Republican learns to respect her congressman:
Today, Lincoln came to the Grundy Rotary meeting. His explanation on the auto bridge loan was dead-on worthy of an attaboy. His focus was the 123 supply companies (and multi thousands of jobs) that would go out of business in his district if the Big 3 went thru bankruptcy. As the old saying goes…all politics are local. That explanation hit home.
I’ve known Lincoln since Spring ‘03 when we attended a dinner at the Icelandic Embassy in DC right after his election. Politics is a small world and I have learned to appreciate Lincoln as a person. And that will make it hard in 2010 if he decides to run for Governor. He is a good man.
So I guess the moral of the story is…don’t ever get to know your opponent in war.
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Off The Acuff
Posted on December 11, 2008 at 7:19 amGail Kerr compares the speculation over a potential run for Tennessee Governor by country singer Tim McGraw to the ill-fated bid by country music legend Roy Acuff for the very same office:
McGraw is obviously a good businessman, and a top-notch entertainer. He’s a family man, with three daughters and a wife who would be quite a sensation at the first lady teas. If he’s serious, he is in much the same position as the late, great King of Country Music, Mr. Roy Acuff, found himself in 1948.
Back then, Acuff was one of the nation’s biggest stars, thanks to people who set their schedules aroundlistening to the Grand Ole Opry. In fact, Japanese troops reportedly shouted as they charged Okinawa, “To hell with Franklin Roosevelt, to hell with Babe Ruth, to hell with Roy Acuff!”
Because of that fame, Acuff was begged by state Republicans to run against a corrupt and seemingly unbeatable Democratic Party machine run by former Memphis Mayor E.H. “Boss” Crump, who quickly jumped on the idea of a country singer in the statehouse as unthinkable. And Gov. Prentice Cooper said the star was “bringing disgrace” to the state by making it the “hillbilly capital of the United States.”
Acuff replied that he might not be an expert on government, but he knew the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments.
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Cautiously Optimistic
Posted on December 10, 2008 at 9:00 amBetty Bean talks with the two lone East Tennessee Democrats in the state House about the changing of the majority in the chamber and hopes that it may flip again:
Democrats will get through it, but they need to regain their majority status in 2010, because the winners that year will be in charge of redrawing district lines for both state and federal legislators.
“There is good hope that the Democrats can make a comeback in the next election. Will we, for sure? Don’t bet your home on it, but there’s a chance. We’ll probably need help from the national party. We’ll need help from the governor, too. He’s a nice man, but he really doesn’t like politics, and his administration is moving into its last two years. We’re hoping he’ll help us out on some things.
“Next time it’s for keeps,” Tindell said.
SEE ALSO: R. Neal
So We’ll Take That As A Maybe On Running For Governor, Then?
Posted on September 2, 2008 at 4:34 pmFrom BusinessTN:
BTN: Given your résumé and the buzz surrounding a possible gubernatorial run, do you intend to remain focused on this latest endeavor?
Frist: My family—from Dad, a doctor here since the 1930s, to my brother Bobby in surgery, to Tommy and HCA, to me, specializing in health policy in the nation’s Capitol—has been consistently dedicated to healing and health. My adult professional life has fallen into 12-year cycles: 12 years of transplanting hearts and lungs, mostly at Vanderbilt, 12 years as a health policy maker representing over six million Tennesseans. The next 12 years will combine the two earlier cycles in encouraging and investing in young companies that will help solve the really big problems of cost, access and quality of health care—problems that neither a single doctor nor a bureaucratic federal government can solve.
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Haslam To Speak To Davidson County GOP, Undecided On Gubernatorial Run
Posted on June 14, 2008 at 2:52 amAs Post Politics reported here earlier this week, Knoxvile Mayor Bill Haslam will speak today at a picnic and straw poll for Davidson County Republicans.
Georgianna Vines speculates, as we did, that Haslam’s appearance so far from home may indicate the Mayor is laying the groundwork for a 2010 run for Governor.
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