Corker only GOP senator sworn in

Corker was the only Republican among 10 new senators sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney in Washington. An independent and eight Democrats make up the rest of the freshman Senate class.

Two former Senate majority leaders from Tennessee, Howard Baker and Bill Frist, attended the ceremony with Corker.

?I have friends and people from around the country that have come here, so it?s very emotional, as you can tell,? Corker told the Washington bureau of The Knoxville News Sentinel.

One of Corker’s primary election opponents, Van Hilleary, was among those at a reception honoring the new senator.

Meanwhile, CNN cable network interviewed Corker’s opponent, Democrat Harold Ford, as part of its congressional coverage and asked him what he planned to do now that his 10 years representing Memphis in the U.S. House are over.

?I?m going to spend a lot of time at home, maybe some teaching and I may work with our governor? on some issues in the state, Ford said.

After a campaign that drew national attention, Corker beat Ford 929,911 votes to 879,976 in the Nov. 7 election.

Also taking the oath of office Thursday were nine U.S. House members from Tennessee, including freshmen Democrat Steve Cohen of Memphis and Republican David Davis of Johnson City.