Congressional candidate Weston Wamp said he will announce a more detailed platform "by the first of the year," about a month after his campaign faces its first financial test.
The campaign has been planning a major fundraiser for early December. Privately, aides have said it will need to be a blockbuster event, given that U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the 3rd Congressional District incumbent, raised $200,000 at a recent fundraiser featuring House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Many of Wamp's preliminary positions align with Fleischmann's, according to campaign websites for both men.
The 24-year-old Republican son of former Congressman Zach Wamp pledged to announce a more "prescriptive" philosophy after Wednesday's 25-minute address to the Hamilton Place Rotary Club that was mostly devoid of politics. Instead Wamp plugged the Lamp Post Group, the Chattanooga-based venture capital incubator, in rather political ways.
Hyping conservative leaders who fostered what he called Chattanooga's "entrepreneurial spirit," Wamp dropped a few names -- former Chattanooga mayor and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker among them -- and shied away from others.
"We had, for a period of time, a pretty good guy representing us in Congress," Wamp said as a few people chuckled.
"I know that guy pretty well," he smiled without mentioning his father by name.
Wamp's campaign coordinator, Hunter Arnold, attended the speech, monitoring the candidate as he spoke. David Elliott, president of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club, invited Wamp and asked him to steer clear of campaigning, citing the organization's rules.
Elliott kept a tight lid on interaction between the audience and Wamp, wrapping up the session after three brief questions.
Tom Snow, a Rotary Club member and CEO of a welding company that bears the family name, said Wamp "favorably impressed" him.
"He's certainly been around politics all of his life," Snow said.
Chris Carroll covers federal politics for the Times Free Press. A Chattanooga native, he went to Red Bank High School and graduated with honors from East Tennessee State University. Chris investigated violent crime, municipal government and hospitals before taking the political beat. For tornado coverage, he and Pam Sohn won a first-place Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors deadline reporting award. In 2010, Chris won the Golden Press Card Award of Merit and another deadline reporting ...
Here you go again giving this boy more type than he deserves. He isn't even old enough yet to be a congressboy. Aren't there enough no-nothing lawyers and sycophants in congress all ready? The thought that any seasoned business man would entertain the notion to support this inexperienced boy is a testament to what is wrong with politics.
How dare him to even insult us with a candidacy. Anyone who is not a relative who supports him is an idiot or just wants to own a congressman.
Chris Carroll and Weston Wamp are in the Nickelodeon generation. That is the network that has situation comedy after situation comedy in which the kids are smart and they have to straighten out the stupid adults. News flash guys..... It is just the opposite.
I can just hear you two now... Hey kids, let's all get together and run for congress.... golly gee, won't that be fun!!!!
He's still working on his platform? Wouldn't that be something you already knew before you ran? How hard is it to write down, "Cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and screw everybody else?"
After being a candidate for a month and he still refuses to let folks know where he stands on issues. That means that he hasn't gotten the polling from his consultants to tell him what to say. Keep writing about all of this and the money Mr. Flieschmann keeps paying to keep Congressman Saltsman out of trouble. Maybe we'll have a thoughtful, experienced candidate step up. She has proven everyone wrong. Including me.
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