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.

permalink | 3 Comments

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