« Chattanooga District 6 update | Main | Civilization a misnomer? »
December 03, 2007
Open seat bonanza
Adam Groves posted this morning that Rep. Parkey Strader, a Republican from Knoxville, will not be seeking re-election in 2008. Strader has not only been battling liver cancer, but has also been somewhat embroiled in the never-ending mess that is the Knox County government. (Hey: I make no claims that we don't have messes of our own here in Hamilton.)
Volunteer Voters carries the theme by pointing us to several news stories relating the unsurprising news that Senator Jerry Cooper, a Democrat from Morrison, will be retiring as well. Cooper has had a full share of legal and financial troubles of late, even with his acquittal on federal fraud charges. (Note: also found via VV, Bob Krumm puts his perspective on the reasons for this retirement announcement. Makes ya think.) Rep. Judd Matheny has been known to have his eye on this Senate seat.
Okay, so two retirements do not make a bonanza. Let's dig into the clippings archives. It was about a year ago that state Sen. Tommy Kilby (D-Wartburg) announced his intentions. Back then, Tom Humphrey (via Terry Frank) floated former House leader and gubernatorial candidate Jim Henry, along with some other names:
Other prospective Republican candidates include state Rep. William Baird, R-Jacksboro; former state Rep. Bruce Cantrell of Kingston; former state Rep. Mark Goins of LaFollette, who as the Republican nominee was defeated by Kilby in a 2003 special election; and former Roane County Executive Ken Yager.
And here's more on Senate District 12 (link broken, from the defunct Go4Truth blog):
KINGSTON – Roane County native and real estate broker Joe Caldwell Wednesday announced that he will run for the District 12 seat in the Tennessee Senate that current Senator Tommy Kilby will vacate in 2008. Caldwell’s decision comes after State Representative Dennis Ferguson, D-Harriman, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he will not run for the seat, instead throwing his support behind Caldwell’s candidacy.
And:
Becky Ruppe, County Executive of Morgan County , has announced her bid for the open senate seat that will be left from Tommy Kilby's vacancy. According to a press release, Ruppe has the endorsement of Lincoln Davis, Tommy Kilby and Dennis Ferguson…
More recently, it was announced that Rep. John Hood, of the fighting 48th in and around Murfreesboro, is not running. Bill Hobbs sees this as a potential GOP pickup.
More of these as I have time....
Oh, and see Mr. Turnbow, who also reminds us of Chris Crider's departure due to being elected Mayor of Milan (uh, not the Italian one).
State House Elections , State Senate Elections | By joe lance | 08:33 PM