WASHINGTON — Vice president rumor season is in full swing, and as names of potential running mates surface, both Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue are in the mix.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said he thinks Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, would make an excellent vice presidential candidate for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, though he said he does not know of any organized campaign to get the Tennessee governor on a ticket.
“He managed Tennessee out of a crisis on health care,” Rep. Davis said of the governor. “He has been a champion of education. He’s got good people around him, and he’s a good ambassador for Tennessee.”
Gov. Bredesen last month waded into the heated battle between Sens. Clinton and Obama for the party nomination by suggesting superdelegates hold their own convention before the Democratic National Convention, drawing some speculation that he was making a play for higher office.
He has denied those rumors.
“Congressman Davis’ statements were very kind, but the governor is not pursuing this,” said Lydia Lenker, Gov. Bredesen’s spokeswoman. “When this topic comes up, the governor says it makes his mother very proud.”
Gov. Perdue, a Republican, also has been suggested as a potential vice presidential candidate by political observers, given his stature as a Southern governor and former head of the Republican Governor’s Association.
The governor also has hosted presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain in Georgia for several campaign events and fundraisers.
“The governor has said repeatedly it’s not something you pursue,” said Bert Brantley, Gov. Perdue’s spokesman. “He considers any mention of him in those terms is a compliment to the state. There’s no point in worrying about something that’s not in his control.”
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said either governor would be attractive to his respective party, though he noted neither has been vetted by voters on a national level, and that Gov. Perdue comes from a state where Republicans historically do well anyway.
Ten Mile, Tenn., native and Washington attorney A.B. Culvahouse Jr. is consulting Sen. McCain in his vice president search, according to The Associated Press.
Other Tennessee and Georgia lawmakers offered other names they would like to see considered as vice president.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., said they favor having former presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the Republican ticket, citing his business experience and tenure as a former Massachusetts governor.
Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said former Rep. J.C. Watts and former presidential candidate and Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson should be on Sen. McCain’s short list.
