Politico has an interesting piece out about how the retiring U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R. TN) is causing a lot of headaches for his own party. I’ve written before how this race should’ve been an easy hold for the GOP with Tea Party Trump-Loving Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R. TN) running for Corker’s seat. But of course, former Governor Phil Bredesen (D. TN) jumping in makes the race competitive but it’s Corker’s closer relationship with Bredesen than with Blackburn that is making the GOP both furious and nervous:
The duo’s chilly relationship has spilled into the open after Corker praised Blackburn’s Democratic opponent and refused to even utter her name in multiple media appearances this spring. The retiring senator’s remarks have boosted former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and agitated Blackburn’s supporters, who want Corker to help heal the state party, not inflame its divisions.
Corker’s lukewarm support for Blackburn is more than an annoyance: The center-right coalition he represents is critical to Blackburn’s prospects in the race. But Chamber of Commerce-type Republicans are generally fond of Bredesen and his past stint as the state’s governor, seeing him as a pragmatic get-things-done kind of pol, as opposed to a hard-edged conservative ideologue in Blackburn.
“He’s a person that would get things done,” Tom Cigarran, a former Corker donor and chairman of the Nashville Predators hockey team, said of Bredesen in an interview Wednesday. “Marsha Blackburn, not so much.” Cigarran, who credited Bredesen with revitalizing downtown Nashville and reforming Medicaid, is backing the former Democratic governor and said people in his social and political circles are, too — “unless they are far-right fanatics.”
There are others. Colleen Conway-Welch, the widow of prominent GOP fundraiser Ted Welch, held a fundraiser for Bredesen in February. And Autozone founder Pitt Hyde, a reliable Republican donor from Memphis, is considering supporting Bredesen, according to two GOP sources familiar with the talks. Hyde did not return a request for comment.
The drama between Blackburn and Corker, combined with Bredesen’s crossover appeal, hint at a potential train wreck for Republicans in November that could swing the narrowly divided Senate to Democrats. Recent public and private polls show Bredesen leading Blackburn, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, in a state that went for Trump by 26 points in 2016. Supporters argue that there’s still plenty of time for her to catch up before November and that she has backing from the vast majority of the state’s Republican officials.
But Republicans in Washington and Tennessee worry that Corker’s Bredesen-friendly comments amount to a tacit permission for pragmatic-minded GOP voters to cross the aisle. They want Corker to go to bat for Blackburn or sit out the contest entirely.
It’s not just the Senate seat that’s up for grabs. This kind of move might also spell trouble for the GOP in the Governor’s race:
Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) in a new interview chided Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) for his warm words about a Democrat running for his Tennessee Senate seat, saying the retiring senator needs to "sit back and be quiet."
Black, who is running for Tennessee governor, also said Corker's positive remarks about former Gov. Phil Bredesen were "inappropriate," and suggested that "gender or personality" could factor in to unenthusiastic support for Rep. Marsha Blackburn's (R-Tenn.) Senate campaign.
"I have no idea whether it’s gender or personality or whatever issue, but I think that it is inappropriate for him to be doing what he’s doing," Black told Politico. "If nothing else, I think he should just sit back and be quiet."
Corker has endorsed Blackburn to succeed him, but has often done so unenthusiastically. He responded to Black's comments, telling Politico that he'd be fine with no longer talking about the race to succeed him.
"I’d be more than glad to stop talking about it," he said. "So I guess I will."
And all the GOP drama is helping boost Bredesen’s profile and putting GOP control of the Senate in jeopardy:
Here’s a question to ponder: Who would you rather be right now — Republican Josh Hawley in Missouri’s Senate race or Democrat Phil Bredesen in Tennessee's? If your answer is Bredesen (who has a slight lead in the polls) over Hawley (who’s essentially tied as Missouri looks to impeach the state’s GOP governor), then it’s not all that hard to see how Democrats could gain the net of two seats they need to win the Senate in November.
Here’s our latest Top 10 Senate takeover list ranked in order of most likely to flip parties (the number in parentheses is the rank from our last list in March):
- Nevada – R (1)
- Arizona – R (3)
- North Dakota – D (2)
- Tennessee – R (9)
- Missouri – D (4)
- Indiana – D (6)
- West Virginia – D (5)
- Florida – D (8)
- Wisconsin – D (7)
- Montana – D (unranked in March)
Let’s let the GOP duke it out. In the meantime, let’s not only help Bredesen keep his campaign fueled, let’s also stick it to Black and help former Memphis Mayor Karl Dean (D. TN) get ready to become the next Governor. Click below to donate and get involved with Bredesen and Dean’s campaigns:
Phil Bredesen
Karl Dean