NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that he had been holding out hope that his friend Bob Corker would run for a third term in the U.S. Senate. But now that Corker has decided to retire from Congress, the governor said he’s been thrust into the position of having to give a Senate bid serious consideration.
Haslam can’t run for re-election as governor next year because of term limits. He was first persuaded by Corker, his brother’s college roommate and later the mayor of Chattanooga, to leave his career in business and seek public office as mayor of Knoxville in 2003. He was elected governor in 2010.
“I’ve loved being governor, there’s no secret there,” Haslam said. “And being in the United States Senate is not something that I’ve long dreamed about and thought about.
“Having said that, I do think it’s really important who serves,” he said. “And I think it merits spending some time thinking about it and praying about it.”
Haslam did not indicate when he would make a decision, other than to say it wouldn’t be as soon as within 24 hours – or as long as a month.