One year out, GOP candidates lining up for Senate seat

Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker started raising campaign money two years before Frist’s self-declared final term ends, and former U.S. Reps. Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary are now both courting conservative voters.

Bryant says he and Hilleary are both anti-abortion, but that Corker has “flip-flopped on the issue of life.”

Corker acknowledges that his position on abortion has changed since he first ran for U.S. Senate in 1994.

“I am pro-life. There is no question about that,” Corker said. “Back in 1994, no question, I said I was personally pro-life, but that I did not believe it was a government issue … I am in a different place spiritually now. I know laws and regulations really do set standards.”

Corker said the issue is not “who is more conservative or less conservative. We are all conservative.”

Bryant and Hilleary are taking aim at Corker because he has raised $3.8 million, giving him a 3-to-1 fundraising advantage. But Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political analyst, says Corker has the least name recognition.

Corker and Hilleary’s geographic support bases overlap slightly in East Tennessee while Bryant is from West Tennessee.

“Part of it will be appealing to bases that know them well,” Oppenheimer said.

With primaries for the U.S. Senate race set for Aug. 3 and the general election Nov. 7, the early campaigning has also prompted quick starts by two Democrats: U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis and state Sen. Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville.

Tennessee hasn’t had a Democratic senator for more than a decade, but Oppenheimer questioned whether GOP problems could make the Senate race competitive. He said all three Republicans — and GOP political newcomer Jeff Moder of Arlington — could face a difficult race.

The national Republican Party has watched President Bush’s approval ratings fall because of the protracted war in Iraq and the administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. Several Republican leaders are being investigated on ethics charges.

“It does not look like 2006 is going to be a good year to be a Republican candidate,” Oppenheimer said.

Ford did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

The lesser known Democrat in the Senate race, Kurita said she wasn’t looking to capitalize on any backlash against the GOP or “anybody else’s hard time.”

Kurita, a registered nurse who started a health care promotion business and has served in the state Senate since 1996, said she wants to see incentives for alternative fuels and efforts to end U.S. reliance on oil from the Middle East.

Moder predicted Democrats will try to use Bush administration problems in Washington against Republicans.

“They are going to talk about spending. We’ve allowed them,” he said.

Hilleary, who works as a Washington lobbyist, said it’s impossible to predict whether there will be a voter backlash next year against Republican candidates.

Hilleary said he is the most conservative candidate in the Senate race and as the nominee will “strike a bright-line contrast” with the eventual Democratic nominee. He predicted that will be Ford and said he has a “fairly liberal record.”

Mark Byrnes, a Middle Tennessee State University political analyst, said it’s too early to say if Republican woes in Washington will carry over to elections next year.

“It is possible,” Byrnes said. “Who knows how things are going to play out? Republicans are certainly having a difficult time and the midterm of a president’s second term is not a good time to run in the presidents’ party.”

Tennessee Republican Chairman Bob Davis said it’s “up to the people of Tennessee to decide who is more conservative. They are all good candidates. They are all good men.”

He predicted the Senate seat will remain in the GOP column.

“If the Democrats think they have got an opportunity to win in Tennessee, I think it is a pipe dream,” Davis said.

Davis said any of the Republicans will be able to take on Ford because of his positions on abortion, taxes, defense and gay marriage.

“He is a nice fellow. He makes a nice presentation, but at the end of the day the guy doesn’t vote right.”

Davis also predicted Republicans will have a strong gubernatorial candidate, although he declined to speculate about any names.

State Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey of Blountville, Sen. Jim Bryson of Franklin and Rep. Beth Harwell of Nashville have said they were considering possible Republican gubernatorial campaigns.