Weston WampThe day after a narrow primary loss in Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District, Republican candidate Weston Wamp says he will bow out of politics - at least for now.
"The way we feel right now, we went all-out, and we gave the voters an opportunity to choose a very different campaign and candidate," Wamp said. "It doesn't leave me to be inclined to run for political office again - at least in the near future."
According to complete but unofficial election results, Fleischmann wound up with 44,620 votes in the 11-county district to Wamp's 43,250.
Wamp, 27, said he thought his age played more of a role in the election results than he had hoped or expected. Had he been 32 or 42, he said, he would have likely won.
"At 62, it would have been a lock," Wamp joked.
"I think it played a major role, and I think that's really sad for our country, because we have plenty of gray hair in Washington and it's entirely dysfunctional."
Read more in Saturday's Chattanooga Times Free Press.