NASHVILLE — Former state Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Paula Flowers is expected to announce later this week she is running for the 3rd Congressional District’s Democratic nomination.
“I just think there are so many needs that need to be met and so many changes that need to take place in the next two to four years out of Washington that are going to impact the district,” said the Oak Ridge, Tenn., resident. “The district needs a voice that understands those needs, and I want to be that voice.”
The 41-year-old attorney, engineer and mother of three said her formal announcement is set for Thursday in Oak Ridge.
Ms. Flowers would become the second Democrat to enter the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., who is running for the 2010 GOP gubernatorial nomination. He says he will not seek re-election to the congressional seat he was first elected to in 1994.
Democrat Brent Benedict, a computer systems analyst from Chattanooga who ran against Mr. Wamp in 2006, has said he intends to run for the 3rd District seat.
On the Republican side, Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble has announced his candidacy. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith, of Hixson, is weighing a run, and state Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, and Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, also are mulling bids. Chuck Fleischmann, a Chattanooga attorney, has formed an exploratory committee to help determine whether he’ll run.
Tennessee Republican Party Executive Director Mark Winslow said U.S. Rep. Wamp’s work has laid a “good groundwork to keep the district in Republican hands.” Republicans tend to get well over 50 percent of the vote and sometimes more than 60 percent depending on the election, he said.
Ms. Flowers said she is “under no illusions” when it comes to running in the 11-county district, which includes Hamilton, Bradley and Rhea counties and stretches north to the Kentucky border.
“It’s going to be a lot of hard work,” she said.
She described herself as “definitely a fiscal conservative” whose interest in politics and government was piqued by Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, for whom she served as Commerce and Insurance commissioner from 2003 to 2007.
The Commerce and Insurance Department provides regulatory oversight for the insurance industry, securities industry and various regulatory boards.
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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