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May 31, 2008
State House 31: A turf war?
A campaign volunteer for the Jim Vincent reelection bid spoke with TennesseeTicket.com recently, and reported a good turnout for the candidate at the Rhea County Strawberry Festival in Dayton.
Former Rep. Vincent is challenging freshman incumbent Rep. Jim Cobb in the District 31 Republican primary on August 7. Vincent had seemingly retired from politics (he was also a former Hamilton County Commissioner) until announcing his intent to retake the House seat last month.
According to my source, many Vincent supporters tell the campaign that they view Rep. Cobb with affection, but feel that he (Cobb) has "not done enough" for the district. Vincent, on the other hand, can point to infrastructure improvements made during his terms that are still recent enough to garner nods of approval.
There is an inevitable division of loyalties based on which county voters call home. The 31st District includes all of Rhea County and part of northern Hamilton County. Rep. Cobb is from Spring City, in the northern end of Rhea; and Jim Vincent lives in the Soddy-Daisy area of Hamilton. While some will put aside the county divide and choose the best person to represent the district as drawn, others respond to the artificial boundaries (and, indeed, the local party organization within each) and vote by territory.
This will definitely be one primary to watch. Stay tuned for a perspective from the Cobb campaign, if and when there is time to obtain it.
State House Elections | By joe lance | 09:59 PM