Frist, Alexander, Bredesen to campaign for respective parties
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander both are expected to campaign for Republican hopefuls, while Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen will do the same for his party.
This election season will be markedly different than previous years since along with a lack of statewide races, this will be the first time in 20 years that Al Gore hasn’t been in the fray in a presidential year.
Instead, Democrats plan to focus on keeping their slim majorities in both legislative chambers by telling voters that life has been better since Bredesen took office, while Republicans will work on increasing voter turnout.
In the Senate, Democrats hold a 18-15 majority, with 16 seats on the ballot this year. In the House, they have a 54-45 majority, with all 99 districts up for election but 36 members unopposed.
“Tennesseans need to ask themselves if they are better off now under this new administration than they were two years ago. That will help Democratic incumbents and challengers,” said Ken Whitehouse, a Democratic consultant who formerly worked for Bredesen.
While the popular governor hasn’t yet started campaigning, he says he “certainly plans to help my friends — to get out there and campaign for Democrats who helped me and help them raise money.”
Republican analyst Chip Saltsman says the results will hinge on turnout, and since this year is like no other, there’s no way to predict how it will go.
“It’s a presidential year with no Al Gore. There are no statewide campaigns. There are no seriously contested congressional races. There are no overwhelming issues like the income tax was in 2002. It’s the perfect storm for turnout models to turn upside down,” Saltsman said.
———
Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com