Berke declines to run for higher office

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April 27, 2009

Berke declines to run for higher office

Senator Andy Berke, whose 10th District covers Marion and part of Hamilton Counties, today announced that he is not running for Governor of Tennessee, nor for the 3rd District U.S. House seat in Congress, in 2010. Earlier speculation had entertained the notion that Berke was aiming for either of those two offices.

The real story about this "rising star" is not that he won't try to replace Gov. Phil Bredesen or U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp in January 2011. No, that's just the teaser. The story runs along a slightly more sophisticated plot line, and goes something like this:

Because the seed was planted earlier that Sen. Berke might be considering a run for the governor's mansion, and there was a smattering of press to that end, today's announcement is the flourish that says "but he could have." The foothold is thus gained amongst a fair proportion of the interested public, and there are doubtless many Democratic (and other) souls whose response to the demure declination was "well, Andy Berke, I'm let down that you won't be running; but you say the word, dear fellow, in a couple or a handful of years, and I'll be your guy/gal."

This is, of course, nothing new. Politicians have used this tactical move for millennia, I'd suppose. But what makes it at least a little noteworthy in this case is just how easy Andy Berke makes it look.

A secondary thread involves leadership in the Senate. Don't forget that the seat Berke now occupies was long held, until recently, by a mightily powerful majority leader (never mind the abrupt fall from grace). While I won't guess as to the timing or goals in this direction either, I feel fairly confident in saying that Berke won't stop at being Secretary-Treasurer for his caucus.

On the gubernatorial race itself:
Without an anomalous Berke in the mix, the Democratic primary seems to be shaping up as expected, with a few big names from West Tennessee (Herron, McMillan, McWherter) and a lone, well-funded Middle Tennessee contender (Cammack), and just about nobody from the East. Geography also plays a part in the GOP primary, which has three East Tennessee heavyweights (Haslam, Ramsey, Wamp) against Memphis' District Attorney (Gibbons).

And lastly, to the election for the seat now held by Congressman Wamp:
Will it be a match between Brent Benedict and Tim Gobble? Early "buzz" seems to suggest something like that, but there's no point in getting too attached to any idea just yet. We'll know by Christmas who's blessed and who's banished.

Political News , TN Gubernatorial Elections , US House Elections | By joe lance | 10:51 PM

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