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Gibbons makes gubernatorial race competitive for other Republicans

David Oatney's photo
Tennessee Statehouse Examiner

In his MetroPulse column this week, Frank Cagle discusses in some detail the Republican "balanced seesaw" in the primary race for Governor, and determines that nearly every dropout scenario could help Zach Wamp: 

There will be pressure in the coming months for someone to drop out, and most any drop-out probably helps Wamp more than anyone else. He is likely the second choice for supporters of two of his opponents. Ramsey among conservatives and Haslam in the Knoxville metro area. Haslam might benefit the most from Gibbons leaving the race. He has the most money and could lay siege to Memphis with a media blitz. He is also popular with the business community there who would have no trouble supporting Haslam were Gibbons not in the race.

 
It has become somewhat normal in East Tennessee political circles to write Bill Gibbons off, largely because we rarely see him in this part of the State and the only Division of the State where he polls well enough to be competitive is in West Tennessee. Gibbons is also experiencing some pressure to drop out from East Tennessee Republicans, some believing that Gibbons' exit will help Bill Haslam, while others think that Wamp or Ramsey would be the beneficiaries of a Gibbons exit. By staying in the race despite low numbers, Gibbons keeps the campaign competitive for the other three Republicans.

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons (R)

 
Despite Zach Wamp wishing that Ron Ramsey would find some reason to drop out (he admitted as much to Rob Huddleston and myself at the Statesman's Dinner this year when he told us that he thought Ramsey was going to have to "make some decisions" so that Bill Haslam could have a serious competitor), Ron Ramsey's campaign is still showing signs of astonishing resilience, and neither he nor Wamp appear to be going anywhere but the campaign trail. Bill Gibbons' seeming desire to fight on insures that Haslam can't "run away" with a victory, and that if he gets one next August, he will have had to work hard for it. None of the current Republican primary polls show Haslam winning in a blowout.
 
It is healthy for the political process to have a real primary that is a toss-up nearly from beginning to end. If Bill Gibbons accomplishes nothing else in this election cycle, his staying in the race will allow Republican voters to have some real choices in our gubernatorial primary, rather than presume that the candidate with the deepest personal pockets is going to win.
 
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, Tennessee Statehouse Examiner

David Oatney is a freelance political writer, blogger, and conservative activist. He is active in local Republican and municipal politics, and lives with his wife in the Great Smoky Mountains in White Pine, Tennessee. He can be reached at oatney@gmail.com.

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