The County Seat

By Kleinheider Posted on August 6, 2008 at 11:34 am

A story in the Southern Standard today highlights the very interesting race for Sen. Steve Roller’s state Senate seat.

Roller, who was chosen by the Warren County Commission to serve the rest of Senator Jerry Cooper’s term, stands as one in a long line of Warren County residents who have held the 14th District seat.

However, Roller faces strong opposition in the primary from two candidates who have strong bases of their own outside Warren and from early voting tallies thing are not looking so good for the appointed incumbent:

Roller was appointed to the Senate by the Warren County Commission in December to take the place of state Sen. Jerry Cooper, who resigned after 23 years of service.

Prior to that time, Ernest Crouch had been state senator for the seven-county district from 1963 until Cooper’s election. The present district was formed out of the former 11th District in 1963.

Standing in Roller’s way in Thursday’s Democratic primary are Eric Stewart of Winchester and Jim Woodard of Tullahoma. One will advance to the November election to face the Republican nominee – James Threet, Mike Neiderhauser or Lynn Sebourn, all from Coffee County.

Early voting numbers appeared up slightly from normal across the state, taking a 25 percent jump from the last August election during a presidential election year in 2004.

In the 14th District, the home counties of the candidates make up most of the entire district’s votes. Generally, about half the electorate has voted early in recent years.

Not counting Saturday’s early vote ballots, Coffee County voted the most with 3,381 early voters, followed by Franklin County with 2,087. Warren County was third with 1,413.

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Tags: Eric Stewart, Jerry Cooper, Jim Woodard  

Stewart Rollering Up In Fourteen

By Kleinheider Posted on June 2, 2008 at 8:22 am

Eric Stewart, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in District 14, has a brand new website with lots of bells and whistles including Twitter and YouTube Channels:

However, what intrigues Post Politics most about this Democratic candidate’s bold attempt to unseat an incumbent Democratic Senator, is not so much the web-savvy of his campaign, but the money that funds it.

In a report filed in April, Stewart reported just under $40,000 in campaign contributions — contributions which do not include a $50,000 loan from the candidate himself.

It would seem as though Mr. Stewart is for real and looking to get at the specially elected Sen. Steve Roller before his incumbency gets ensconced with a full term.

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Tags: District 14, Eric Stewart, Steve Roller, Tennessee State Senate  

Rounding Up The Senate Races

By Kleinheider Posted on May 26, 2008 at 12:43 pm

R. Neal, in a comphrensive analysis piece taking a look at all the state senate seats up for election in 2008, zeroes in on a race in District 14 that could be very interesting in both the primary and the general:

 Long serving Sen. Jerry Cooper resigned in December following a bank fraud scandal in which he was ordered to pay $120,000 in fines although he was acquitted of federal fraud charges. Warren County Commission appointed now incumbent Democrat Steve Roller on a narrow 12-10 vote after nine ballots.

Roller faces two challengers in the Democratic primary. Eric Stewart is an insurance man and former Franklin County Commissioner with a high-powered campaign staff. Tullahoma businessman Jim Woodard appears to be running a low profile campaign.

Republicans looking to pick up a seat are running Mike Niederhauser, Lynn Sebourn, and James Threet. Of the three, only Lynn Sebourn appears to be running a serious campaign. He is on the Tullahoma Municipal Planning Commission and has been involved in the GOP party organization.

Roller reports $22,000 on hand for the first quarter, with no contributions and no expenditures. Sebourn reports $3400 on hand for the first quarter, with $50 in contributions and a $4000 loan to his own campaign and $615 in expenditures. Stewart’s report is not listed on the state website, but his campaign reports $90,000 on hand. Woodard and Threet do not have reports listed, and Niederhauser’s report is all zeroes.

The mostly rural 14th district is strong for Democratics. Republican might have a slight chance here if Cooper’s ethics problems are on the minds of voters. Also, Roller hasn’t been in office long enough to get much incumbent advantage. Fundraising reported by Stewart’s campaign appears to strongly favor him. With a Democratic incumbent, a strong Democratic challenger, and the district’s Democratic tradition, we will be optimistic and predict this seat will stay in the D column.

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Tags: Eric Stewart, Jerry Cooper, Lynn Sebourn, Steve Roller