NASHVILLE -- U.S. Rep Zach Wamp, a Chattanooga congressman running for governor, said today he won't follow the lead of U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, who is resigning to focus full time on winning Georgia's GOP gubernatorial primary battle.
Rep. Wamp, R-Tenn., said running for governor while serving in Congress is a "challenge, but you have to be incredibly well organized and disciplined."
"I'm just 52, and I take good care of myself," he said Tuesday while in Nashville. "I still run regularly and I sleep well and, as a result, I'm able to do two jobs at the same time."
Rep. Deal, R-Ga., said Monday he was leaving his seat early to work on his gubernatorial bid. On Sunday, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, resigned his seat, effective immediately, to campaign full time for governor.
But juggling both the congressional job and the work as a candidate has a positive effect, Rep. Wamp said.
"Frankly, it gives me a very unique perspective of what we need to do in our state to chart our own course and try to develop and establish as much autonomy for our state under an agenda that's pro Tennessee," he said.
In Nashville, Rep. Wamp appeared Tuesday with other Republican and gubernatorial candidates at a forum hosted by the Tennessee Cable Association. Among the GOP candidates at the forum were Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons.
During the event, Mr. Gibbons continued to jab at Mr. Haslam's refusal to divulge his earnings from the Haslam family owned Pilot Corp., the Associated Press reported. Mr. Gibbon likened it to "an Olympic athlete declining to take a drug test," according to reports.
Pilot Corp. is a major owner of Pilot Travel Centers, a national chain of gas and convenience centers.
Mr. Haslam, who has revealed millions of dollars of investments outside Pilot, has indicated he would put those investments in a blind trust, but he said it makes no sense to do so for Pilot.
"To what end?" he asked. "I could put it in a blind trust, but I would still know I owned it. It kind of defeats the purpose.
"But," he added, "if it makes people feel better, I'll be glad too because I'm not going to be involved in decisions on it."
Mr. Haslam has been criticized by all his fellow GOP candidates for refusing to make his federal income tax returns available. After the forum, he told reporters that putting his money in a blind trust feels like it's "being a little too clever by half."