Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Monday that he will not seek the GOP nomination to fill the seat of outgoing Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Corker, who’s leaving office at the end of the year, confirmed to reporters with a barrage of “noes” that he will not consider a bid for Alexander’s seat after deciding against running for re-election, despite having second thoughts throughout the 2018 campaign cycle.
“No, no, no, no,” Corker told reporters at the Capitol. “I mean, I’m chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Was in line to be chairman of [Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee].”
“To step down and then run and be …” Corker said, trailing off, indicating that running after giving up his seniority wouldn’t have been worth it. “No, no, no. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. Thank you for asking.”
Corker confirmed that he talked to Gov. Bill Haslam and that the outgoing two-term governor is considering a run for Alexander’s seat. Alexander is giving up the seat after three terms in office.
“I know he’s going to think about it for a while,” Corker said of Haslam’s thought process, adding that Bill Hagerty, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, is also expected to consider a campaign. “I think both of them will look at it, and there may be others.”
“I think like me and — I want to get away from here for a while and I think he wants to get out. He’s been there for eight years,” Corker said. “I think he just wants to get away and think about it. There’s no indication, but [he’ll] think about it.”
Corker noted that he tried unsuccessfully to get Haslam or former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning to run for his seat in 2018 after he announced his decision not to seek re-election. He added that he does not anticipate Manning running for Alexander’s seat, saying that the former Tennessee Volunteers star is likely “enjoying coaching little league football” and probably won’t be interested.
The Tennessee Republican’s chances of winning either his seat in 2018 or Alexander’s in 2020 were kneecapped after he got into a heated public spat with President Trump in which he likened the White House to an “adult day care center.” Corker thought about running in a GOP primary in 2018 against Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn, but his support levels had cratered with GOP voters in the state.
