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One last round of pleading

David Oatney's photo
Tennessee Statehouse Examiner
Wamp: "Vote for me, please, your man can't win."
Wamp: "Vote for me, please, your man can't win."
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Congressman Zach Wamp is desperately trying to play catchup in the Tennessee gubernatorial race, appealing to supporters of Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey not to "throw your vote away" in last-minute begging today. One has to wonder if it has occurred to Wamp that well over half of the people who are going to vote in the Republican Primary have likely already done so. I tend to agree with columnist Frank Cagle that Bill Haslam has the clear lead today, but he hasn't sealed the deal in the minds of many voters. If Haslam wins the Republican nomination tomorrow without having closed what we'll call the credibility gap-or what in courtroom parlance they might call reasonable doubt, new ads like this one from Democratic nominee Mike McWherter could prove very effective for the General Election.


That's not to say that at this point in the game Mike McWherter has a realistic chance to win-he probably doesn't. Tennessee Democrats are a much more conservative lot, and to a point Mike McWherter fits that mold. A number of the local citizenry who would otherwise be open to supporting McWherter have told The Examiner what many have already known for some time, that Mike is not his father Ned Ray. One local small-town official said "once I talked to McWherter, I knew I wasn't going to vote for him, he's just not a very smart fella."

Despite any issues or lack thereof over McWherter's intellect, because his father is just as behind him as Big Jim Haslam is behind Bill he can't be discounted. Ned McWherter was elected in 1986 over a well-funded, well-known, and relatively popular Republican opponent in former Governor Winfield Dunn. Much like Dunn, Haslam is wealthy, will have big name donors, and has name recognition and relative popularity, but a lot of folks who are suspicious of him-including a few with some influence (remember Jimmy Quillen?). Bill Haslam would be wise, should he win the Republican nod tomorrow, to study the parallels between the 1986 campaign and his own to avoid an unfortunate repeat of history.

Meanwhile, Haslam's world as Governor is likely to be tempered by the presence of notable anti-establishment figures as Steve Hall (R-Knoxville) and his own Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) in the Tennessee House of Representatives as well as his primary opponent Ron Ramsey (R) as Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate-not to mention Senator Stacey Campfield.

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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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