Corker gets behind Blackburn as Senate successor

 In this Jan. 24, 2018, file photo, Sen Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks at a news conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Corker says he will no longer block Persian Gulf nations from buying American-made lethal weapons even though the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its neighbors remains in a stalemate.. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
In this Jan. 24, 2018, file photo, Sen Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks at a news conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Corker says he will no longer block Persian Gulf nations from buying American-made lethal weapons even though the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its neighbors remains in a stalemate.. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

NASHVILLE - Retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is getting behind Republican Marsha Blackburn in her effort to succeed him.

"Now that the Republican primary has essentially concluded, I am sending a contribution to Representative Marsha Blackburn's campaign and wish her well in her race for the U.S. Senate," Corker, a Chattanooga Republican, tweeted today from his personal Twitter account.

The move comes after the Tennessee Republican Party's State Executive Committee over the weekend denied GOP primary ballot access to seven of Congressman Blackburn's competitors, including Williamson County businessman Darrell Lynn, who had pledged to spend $5 million of personal wealth in the Aug. 2 primary.

In a statement, Blackburn thanked Corker for "his support and encouragement as we work to unify the Republican party and defeat Democrat Phil Bredesen in November. We will continue to take our campaign to every corner of the state and talk with Tennesseans about how we can get the United States Senate back to work and pass President Trump's agenda."

Corker announced last year he would not seek a third term, noting he had stated in his first campaign he could not see himself spending more than two terms in the Senate.

The announcement came not long after Corker made national news by publicly criticizing President Donald Trump over the president's ambivalent response to a deadly protest involving white supremacists and counter protesters that left a counter protester dead.

Following his retirement announcement, Corker and the president later clashed via Twitter with the senator at one point likening the White House to an "adult day care center" with no on duty that day. The senator also warned the president could put the U.S. "on the path to World War III."

But the tensions between the two men later eased.

More recently, Corker began re-considering his retirement decision at the urging of some Republicans after a poll commissioned by a business group found the general election contest between Blackburn and former Gov. Bredesen could be tight. But Corker recently announced he was sticking to his original decision.

Last week, a Middle Tennessee State University poll of registered voters showed Bredesen ahead of Blackburn by 10 percentage points, although some earlier polls by Republican allies found Blackburn ahead.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.

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