NASHVILLE -- Although two of the state's Democratic congressmen already have called it quits in the face of tough Republican election opposition, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., says he is running for re-election in the 4th Congressional District.
In an interview with Congressional Quarterly this week, the Pall Mall, Tenn., Democrat said that "you can count me as a candidate" in the 2010 congressional contest.
Rep. Bart Gordon, elected to the 6th Congressional District in 1984, and Rep. John Tanner, elected to the 8th District in 1988, have said they won't seek re-election.
That leaves Republicans openly questioning whether Rep. Davis will stay.
"He represents a district that went for John McCain by 30 points -- 5 points more than Bart Gordon's and 17 points more than John Tanner's," National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Seré said in an e-mail to reporters this week. "He has just over $100,000 in the bank, far less than the millions Gordon and Tanner were sitting on. And of the three, he's most open to charges of hypocrisy."
Rep. Davis' chief of staff, Beecher Frasier, told the Times Free Press Wednesday that "we can hold this seat and we will. We've run a race every cycle. This is nothing new to us."
The congressman had $121,228 in his campaign coffers as of Sept. 30, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Republican Scott Eugene DesJarlais, a physician, reported cash on hand on of $105,813. He has raised $126,650, including a $29,400 loan he made to his campaign. Another Republican, Donald Wayne Strong, reported raising no money.
Mr. Frasier said Rep. Davis can raise money when needed.
"We have always raised anywhere between $1.1 million and $1.4 million," he said. "We will have all the money we need to run this race."
On Thursday, Mr. Seré attacked Rep. Davis for supporting a $174 billion jobs bill on Wednesday.
The Associated Press said the bill includes about $50 billion for public works projects and almost $50 billion for cash-strapped state and local governments. It passed the House 217-212, with no Republican votes.
"Surely he can't be too confident in his re-election chances if he continues voting like he has in the last couple weeks," Mr. Seré said.
Veteran state political observer Ed Cromer, editor of nonpartisan Tennessee Journal, said it's too early to say whether Rep. Davis is in trouble. The congressman can obviously raise more money, he said, so the question is whether Mr. DesJarlais can, too.
"That is a very tough district for an unknown challenger to run in," Mr. Cromer said. "It's such a sprawling, rural district with multiple TV markets that you have to use to get yourself known. A very difficult race."
Mr. Cromer noted the "political climate right now is not real good for Democrats in Tennessee -- in rural areas anyway -- but Davis is pretty conservative and fits the district well. I think it'll be tough to unseat him."
The 4th Congressional District includes Marion, Sequatchie, Grundy, Coffee and Franklin counties in Southeast Tennessee.
Mr. Frasier noted that Rep. Davis was elected to the U.S. House in 2002, one of three Democrats nationwide to win a previously held Republican seat.
He said the congressman will win.
"I believe it's 300 and what, 18 days, to Election Day? You'll be writing a story: Lincoln Davis wins again," he said. "You can bet the farm on it."
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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