On Tuesday, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican, announced that he would not seek re-election this year, becoming the first senator to call it quits this cycle. Corker had spent months saying he hadn't decided what to do, but this move still came as a surprise. Steve Bannon, the white supremacist chief of Breitbart News, and billionaire mega-donor Robert Mercer reportedly were planning to target Corker in the primary, which may have played a role in his departure.
Tennessee has become an incredibly difficult state for Democrats, especially in recent years, and Team Red will be heavily favored to hold this seat. Still, Democrats have an interesting candidate in attorney and Iraq War veteran James Mackler, who raised $451,000 from April to June. Mackler will need a lot to go right here to have a shot, but Democrats probably have a better opening with Corker leaving.
Corker was already facing a primary challenge from Andy Ogles, the former head of the state chapter of the Koch Brothers-affiliated group Americans for Prosperity. State Sen. Mark Green, whose nomination to lead the Department of the Army failed due to his long history of disparaging remarks about Muslims and LGBT people, also had been talking about challenging Corker.
But with the senator hitting the eject button, the floodgates are open for ambitious Tennessee Republicans. Last week, local Republicans suggested to Roll Call's Simone Pathé that if Corker left, all eyes would turn to Rep. Marsha Blackburn. They also suggested that ex-Rep. Stephen Fincher, who retired last cycle after just three terms, could be interested. We're likely to see a lot more names over the next few days and weeks as this unexpected open seat race comes into focus.
