Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was holding meetings at the White House last week as potential rival, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was reconsidering his decision to retire.
Blackburn met with top White House officials to discuss her midterm Senate bid. The conversations were confirmed on Tuesday by Republican sources, and described as “encouraging” and positively disposed toward the congresswoman’s campaign.
The meetings could signal that President Trump is inclined to support Blackburn over Corker in Tennessee’s Aug. 2 GOP primary should the senator get back into the race. That would be a crucial development.
Corker’s viability in a primary versus Blackburn could depend on whom Trump endorses — or whether he endorses at all, suggested Tom Ingram, a Republican operative in Nashville who backs the senator and has been urging him to forgo retirement and run for a third term.
“His numbers are turning back up just on the perception that he and Trump are making up,” said Ingram, former chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Corker and Trump were openly feuding last fall, around the time the senator decided to call it quits. Trump is popular amongst Republican voters in Tennessee, and Corker’s war of words with the president weakened his position in the 2018 Senate primary.
Their relationship has since been on the mend, fueling optimism about Corker’s prospects among his supporters that he is recovering among core Republicans, and would defeat Blackburn. A source familiar with their relationship say it is “good” and that they “talk periodically about a number of issues.”
“The senator continues to attend meetings at the White House, as he has throughout the president’s time in office,” this source added. “He or members of his staff are in constant contact with the president’s team on national security, foreign policy, economic and Treasury-related issues.”
Still, a succession of public opinion polls show Blackburn with a wide lead over Corker in a hypothetical primary matchup. And she has always been on friendly terms with the president, an advantage for her in any primary with the incumbent.
In one such survey, conducted by the GOP firm WPA Intelligence, Blackburn led Corker 55 percent to 26 percent. Blackburn didn’t announce for Senate until after Corker said would retire. But the congresswoman told conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt in a recent interview that she would not step aside if he jumps back in.
“I am running, and I’m going to win,” she said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But the Washington Examiner reported last week that top White House officials and senior Republican leaders in the Senate have been pleased with Blackburn’s candidacy. To the extent that there is a movement to draft Corker back into the Senate race, they are not a party to it.
Top Republicans have been happy with Blackburn’s fundraising and organization. She has solid relationships with grassroots conservatives, and the Republican establishment.
However, other Republican insiders have said party leaders were receptive to Corker’s possible change of heart, with allies claiming he would be a stronger candidate against presumptive Democratic nominee Phil Bredesen, a former governor.
NBC News reported that Corker could announce his intentions this Friday, although the senator’s office declined Tuesday to comment on his timetable. Corker and Blackburn are both expected in Memphis that evening, for a Shelby County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner.
