Here is a profile of Memphis' Sen. Jim Kyle by Jackson Baker. (HT: A.C. Kleinheider)
And then there was this little matter concerning Third District congressional campaigns.
]]>About the only things to add are some quotes. I spoke with Sen. Roy Herron after the event was over, and asked him to what he attributed his straw poll victory. "There's a sizable number of Hamilton Countians who have been kind to me, who have persuaded their friends they should be kind to me too," he replied, smiling. I asked him what he wanted to say to Democratic Party voters who hadn't yet made up their minds, and he said that he will continue to work as hard as he can to earn their vote, and will return to Hamilton County soon, and many times.
There weren't actually any undecided votes in the announced gubernatorial straw poll results. I asked local party chairman Jeff Brown whether they just weren't announced, or if there truly were none. His reply: "No, there were no undecided votes, but there was one write-in for Andy Berke."
More quotes:
Sen. Jim Kyle, from the podium: "I'll be twittering tonight on my way back to Nashville."
Sen. Roy Herron, also from up front: "People all over this state are looking for real work."
Unattributed/overheard:
Person 1: "Quit playing with your BlackBerry. You're not paying attention." Person 2: "I've heard these same speeches since 1958. Leave me alone."
"If the other candidates would learn how to cart around crowds of volunteers like Roy Herron does, maybe they would start winning some of these straw polls."
Chattanooga — Sen. Roy Herron (D-Dresden) has gone three-for-three in Democratic straw polls in the race for Governor, with the latest win coming tonight at the annual Kefauver Dinner hosted by the Hamilton County Democratic Party in Chattanooga.]]>Sen. Herron received 152 of the 310 votes cast — 49% — in the five-candidate contest. On Saturday, he won the straw poll in Sullivan County with 57%. He also won the first straw poll in Rutherford County also by a large margin.
“I’m very thankful to the people of Hamilton County for their votes and their confidence,” Sen. Herron said. “We’re going to keep on working all across the state to earn people’s trust and support.”
Full results of the straw poll are below:
1. Sen. Roy Herron - 152
2. Sen. Jim Kyle - 79
3. Kim McMillan - 30
4. Mike McWherter - 25
5. Ward Cammack - 24Sen. Herron represents nine counties in West and Middle Tennessee. For over 22 years, he has demonstrated strength in being elected in rural areas, and now he has demonstrated his appeal to urban voters by winning straw polls in three major metropolitan areas: Murfreesboro, Tri-Cities, and Chattanooga. By winning now in Middle Tennessee, Northeast Tennessee, and Southeast Tennessee, he is proving strong support in all three of Tennessee’s grand divisions.
At the dinner, the candidates were asked to share their ideas on restoring Tennessee’s dragging economy and creating new jobs. Sen. Herron said his top three priorities would be “jobs, jobs, and jobs,” and that improving education is the best way to prepare students and Tennessee’s workers to compete for 21st Century jobs.
Sen. Roy Herron: 152
Sen. Jim Kyle: 79
Kim McMillan: 30
Mike McWherter: 25
Ward Cammack: 24
There was no total given from the podium for undecided votes. I asked party chairman Jeff Brown if there were any. He replied, "No, there were no undecided votes, but there was one write-in for Andy Berke."
More later, and check http://twitter.com/TnTicket for the play-by-play, if you missed it.
]]>Herron had 85 votes, McWherter had 20 votes, Kyle had 12 votes, and Cammack and McMillan had 11 votes apiece. Twelve people were undecided.Anyone who bought a $10 ticket could vote, and Herron bought 10 tickets, Jones said. Kyle said he wasn’t aware candidates could buy tickets until he got to the event. Neither McWherter, the son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, nor McMillan [was] at the event.
Herron will ride these early straw poll victories into Chattanooga on Monday night, where all five major Democratic candidates are expected for the annual Estes Kefauver dinner. Herron was in town last week for a reception, and I owe you a post on that event.
See also:
Bristol Herald Courier
Post Politics
First things first: the coffee. I had an iced latte from Chattz on Market Street. I didn't ask what was in Ms. McMillan's mug, but I assume it was coffee made in the office where she was camping out for the day, a few doors down from Chattz.
I asked McMillan what she thought set her apart from the rest of the candidates running, and she said that she is the candidate that listens. She has been to all but a few of Tennessee's 95 counties, and she has been seeking input from the people wherever she goes.
So, what are they saying? I asked. Her reply was that education ranked first among citizen concerns, with jobs being a very close second. She then indicated that not much has changed along those lines since she was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, with the exception that perhaps people are realizing to a greater degree just how inseparable those two topics are.
I wanted to know whether she would focus most on K-12 education, or higher ed (including community colleges), or pre-Kindergarten; she said that all were of pretty much equal priority. She praised the Tennessee SCORE group led by Bill Frist, M.D., a former U.S. Senate Majority leader, and pointed to its final report as a worthy input to the education reform that, many say, the state desperately needs. To McMillan, measuring the success of higher education (i.e., graduation and job placement) is just as important as making sure children have access to pre-K.
I then asked how she was that much different than a couple of her opponents on this issue, since I have been hearing a lot of education talk from Sen. Jim Kyle (a fellow Democrat) and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (a Republican), among others. She cited her upbringing—both of her parents are former educators—as well as her tenure in the state House, where she sponsored legislation and got it passed (such as the 2005 pre-K expansion bill, of which Kyle was the Senate sponsor), and where she made sure that education was a priority in every budget; and the fact that she worked closely with Gov. Bredesen on education issues while a member of his Cabinet.
McMillan ended by saying that we should not be defeatist about our ranking (after I brought it up), but that we should focus on what is working well, and improve upon the rest.
I had brought a couple of reader-submitted questions with me, and we moved on to those. First, someone asked McMillan to name one thing she would do differently than Gov. Bredesen has in his two terms. Not surprisingly, I didn't get a specific answer on this one. Bredesen is a popular Democrat in an increasingly Republican-dominated state, so to be a Democrat and start pointing out his weaknesses is simply not done. She said that the issues facing the next governor will be different than those that he has faced, and that his business management skills made him the right person for the job at the time he ran. Sidestep=complete.
The second question was what role McMillan thinks gender plays in this campaign. She is, after all, the only woman running for governor (Ed. note: besides June Griffin, whom most observers write off). Were she to win next November, McMillan would become the state's first female governor. However, she said, she is "not running to be in the history books." She feels that she has the experience and know-how to get things done, and that the unique status her gender would provide is a bonus, much like President Barack Obama's race vis-à-vis his qualifications. She doesn't know that being a woman gives her any more advantage than her being the youngest of the major candidates provides her any inroads to the youth vote.
Since our schedules were cramped, the Kim McMillan campaign has agreed to have her answer some additional questions via e-mail. So, what else would you like to know?
]]>McWherter's answer to one of those questions, as posted here, touched off some controversy in the online political arena, and there have been more conversations with the candidate on the subject—some of which may indicate that I misinterpreted the candidate's response, and thus inadvertently attributed to Mike McWherter a specific policy position that he does not, in fact, hold.
Let me state first that I would never intentionally twist, spin, or otherwise distort an interviewee's words, for political reasons or for any other purpose. My intent here is to provide readers with information about candidates and their views, and if I have an opinion about that information, I try to demarcate that opinion clearly from the facts that I'm presenting.
The original question asked the candidate to declare whether or not he supported a proposed ban on adoption by unmarried couples.
When I asked McWherter whether, if he were governor and such legislation passed in the General Assembly (effectively prohibiting same-sex adoption), he would veto that bill, I understood his answer to be "no," which meant, to me, that he would allow the ban to go into effect.
I did ask a couple of follow-up questions, but I did not inquire whether McWherter would allow the bill to become law without his signature. I felt at the time that his responses, overall, to the question made his position clear on adoption by gay couples.
The McWherter campaign has now stated, according to Sean Braisted, that a bill with this intent would be very complex, and that McWherter would not be in favor of it.
If I misinterpreted, and erroneously published, Mr. McWherter's earlier remarks, I sincerely apologize.
I plan to use a fully disclosed digital recording device in future interviews.
The story remains a little muddled, but I have learned some things. Hopefully voters have as well.
Further reading:
]]>Incumbent Congressman Jim Cooper, a "Blue Dog" Democrat, had been rumored to be facing an imminent challenge from the Left (and, for all we know, he still might); but for now has a solidly right-wing opponent.
]]>Enjoyed meeting democrats in Knoxville this morning at Shoney's on Western Ave. Chip Forrester to be featured speaker. A large crowd.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, of Blountville:
In Clarksville today. Meeting with officers from Fort Campbell and veterans groups. Taking part in a parade. Looking forward to a good day.
I will be meeting with one or more candidates here in Chattanooga in the next week or two.
]]>The candidates are:
(Corrected start time.)
]]>"Really enjoyed the Blount education forum tonight. The BEI is a great example of grassroots movement in support of education." — @BillHaslam
"Big day in E Tn-raised 175K tnght in Knox w/ John Rich who came to Blount 4 education evt. Will hve enough money 2 win/make Tn even better!" — @zachwamp
Hat tip: Brian Hornback
]]>It is debatable whether voters in populous counties like Shelby, Davidson, or Hamilton, which have partisan elections for all but school board posts (the latter being limited to nonpartisanship by state law), possibly benefit from having primaries. (However, if elected positions like Trustee, Court Clerk, and Register of Deeds—I mean, come on: Register of Deeds—were stripped of their party labels, that might change.)
Small and mid-sized counties certainly do not need to take on this cost, and so I approve of the Putnam County Commission's actions. Be sure to read all the comments at Post Politics.
]]>That said, there may be a way for a candidate to influence the hearts and minds of those most likely to encourage their friends and supporters to vote in a primary: by sending cash.
The Hill published a story about the variety of ways current members of Congress are using their federal campaign accounts when running for state or other offices. Some are allowed to simply transfer the money to another campaign account, but state laws vary on this practice. Some have to get creative, like U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), who are refunding money to donors in hopes of getting it sent right back to their gubernatorial campaigns.
Among the shrewdest moves, perhaps, is this one:
In Tennessee, gubernatorial candidate Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) has sent $22,000 to the state Republican Caucus. He also sent smaller donations to four county Republican parties and Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), among several other House colleagues.
The article doesn't say which four county parties were the recipients, but one can reasonably assume that they include Shelby and Hamilton; Williamson is another likely target, I would think. And by giving to the Republican Caucus, Rep. Wamp is issuing a direct challenge to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey for the title of "it's me vs. Haslam."
]]>If politicians and school officials here don't stop trying to economize by using outdated mid-20th Century approaches to educating children, Sen. Herron warned, there's no way those young people can acquire the strong math and science skills they will need to succeed in the highly competitive 21st Century economy.]]>