Aides deny report that Alexander will step aside for Manning Senate bid

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander's office on Friday denied a report published in Politico that he will not seek re-election. The same report suggested that "several Republicans are wondering whether Peyton Manning will run" for that seat.

In fact, Tom Ingram, a top aide in Sen. Alexander's office and one of his longtime campaign leaders, told 10News he and the senator have already begun discussing the 2020 re-election bid.

Even though he has made no formal decision to run, Senator Alexander has already begun fundraising for that campaign, according to a statement from David Cleary, his chief of staff.

As to the mention of legendary Vol quarterback Peyton Manning, who retired from the NFL last year, he has not indicated any interest in getting into politics.

Manning did speak at a GOP retreat on Thursday, though that event was not open to the press.

Manning, a popular figure in Tennessee, owns property in the state where he played college football before heading to the NFL.

Cleary acknowledged Manning's popularity in his statement, though didn't comment on his political aspirations.

“Like everybody else in Tennessee, Senator Alexander is a big fan of Peyton Manning," he said.

Phone poll regarding the GOP races

Well, that was interesting. I just got polled on my cell (hey, who really owns a land line anymore). Was asked five questions.

They wanted to know:

1. Whether I would vote for Lamar Alexander or Joe Carr in the U.S. Senate race (or if I was undecided)
2. Whether I would vote for Jimmy Duncan or (some name I didn't catch) for the U.S. Congress seat (or if I was undecided)
3. Whether I had a favorable opinion (or something like that) of Gov. Big Bill (or if I was unsure)
4. Whether I had a favorable opinion of Lamar Alexander (or if I was unsure)
5. Whether I had a favorable opinion of Sen. Bob Corker (or if I was unsure)

Anyhoo, for the record, I put punished "Three" each time for unsure or undecided, which means I'm going to be in the that "plus or minus (insert number) percent" category.

Heh.

Should have called someone who cared.

Burchett won't seek US Senate seat

Becker and Burchett

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett this afternoon told WBIR stud John Becker that he will not challenge US Senator Lamar Alexander for his seat in the 2014 GOP primary.

"I prayed about it and it didn't feel right," he said.

I told you so (heh) in July and again last month.

A number of folks in the local, state and national media for the past few months have suggested that he would contend for the seat.

Burchett, though, was just having a little fun.

Course that's not to say that he approves of the job Alexander is doing. but, he's just smart enough to know that he doesn't have the numbers, despite what a vocal but very small tea party minority would believe.

Voter Registration Day, some facts

Knox County Elections stud Cliff Rodgers sent out a release earlier today, noting that Sept. 24 is National Voter Registration Day.

“On September 24, next Tuesday, we will have 35 polling locations open for the City of Knoxville Primary Election, and folks may go to any of these places to register to vote for future elections,” Rodgers said. “National Voter Registration Day is a great time to make sure that your registration is up to date or to register for the first time. We are ready to help you in any way we can at any time.”

To read the whole release, click right smack here.

OK, got that out of the way. There’s a lot of rumors going on about who is going to run for what and when, so now is probably a good time to clarify three things that you can take to the bank.

• Tim Burchett will be Knox County Mayor in 2015.
• Lamar Alexander will be a U.S. Senator in 2015.
• Big Bill will be Tennessee Governor in 2016.

You don’t have to like it. But those are facts. All three will win with a least 60 percent of the vote for their individual races, and probably more. There is no one in Knox County who can beat Burchett for mayor. There is no one in the state who can outspend Haslam. And Carr is just plain too ugly to beat Alexander.

Heh.

The elections will not be close.

Politico talks Alexander, Burchett

Politico, the journalism web site, ran a piece this morning on U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander that pretty much said nothing.

You can find it, right smack here. Of interest in it, however, was this short mention:

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett said he’s been approached by state conservatives and is considering the bid but acknowledged that it’s going to be hard to beat the GOP “ruling class.”

“He needs to be challenged,” Burchett said, noting that Alexander is a friend and fraternity brother. “Every political person in Tennessee has already endorsed the senator, but when you ask them about amnesty, they’re against it.”

The article mentioned that Burchett and Alexander met a few weeks ago for lunch and  the good senator said "we talked about various Knox County issues."

Heh.

From what I understand, Alexander had no clue about what he was talking about, particularly when school issues and tax increases were mentioned.

Still, it doesn't matter. Burchett could probably give him a better run than anyone else (and it would be fun to watch). And the tea party - for good or bad - will back him because they're going to support anyone taking on Lamar, but he's not going down.

And I doubt Burchett will run. Not yet.