Black Candidates for Statewide Office: Update on Tennessee
Black Candidates for Statewide Office: Update on Tennessee
David A. Bositis
August 7 , 2006
Tennessee held its primary on August 3, and CBC member Representative Harold Ford (D) will face former Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker (R) for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Bill Frist. Corker will represent a difficult challenge for Representative Ford because he is a moderate Republican and he is wealthy—and has shown a willingness to spend his own money on his campaigns. Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up at this time, but Ford has lagged in recent polls when matched against Corker, and absent a strong Democratic tide in November, this will be a difficult race for him to win.
Also yesterday, a white candidate, State Senator Steve Cohen, won the Democratic nomination for Tennessee's ninth congressional district—a majority-minority district. This district has been represented by a member of the Ford family since Harold Ford Sr.’s election in 1974. Cohen won the nomination because there were 14 black candidates in the Democratic primary field and those candidates split the black vote. Cohen's Republican opponent, who is also white, is Mark White. However, Harold Ford Jr.'s brother Jake Ford is running for the seat as an Independent, and his prospects should be fairly good. If elected, Jake Ford would caucus with the Democrats.