Democrats have challenged U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, with a variety of candidates — lawyers, doctors and in 2024 even a moderate businessman — but to no avail.
In his eight previous general election races, his Democratic opponents have garnered as much as one-third of the vote only four times and no more recently than 2018.
Despite calls for him to do so, Fleischmann has said he won’t do any town hall-type debates, and he has sat down with opinion writers at this newspaper only once since the pandemic.
In other words, he’s not likely to change his stripes about being available to the general public, and he’s not in danger of losing his position for, perhaps, as long as he wishes to serve.
To be sure, he is diligent about advocating for money for his district, from the replacement Chickamauga Dam lock in Chattanooga to the many energy-related projects in Oak Ridge. If engaged, he is formal and polite. In the House, he sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee and touts the fact he is a “cardinal,” a subcommittee chair (Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies) on the Appropriations Committee.