Corker: No presidential run planned

NASHVILLE - U.S. Sen. Bob Corker today told a Nashville-based talk radio host that he will not run for president in 2012.

During a telephone interview on "The Steve Gill Show," Gill noted that the Chattanooga senator has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate and asked if a bid was in Corker's "thought process for 2012 or beyond."

"It absolutely isn't," said Corker. R-Tenn. "Look, I really feel like, you know, I'm making a difference in the Senate. I spend so much time trying to understand the issues. I feel like I've become a thought leader in many ways. I'm going to work hard in our state over the next couple of years to try to be re-elected."

Corker, who is in his first term, is up for re-election in 2012 and could face opposition in the GOP primary if some tea party activists have their way.

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips last month listed Corker as one of five Republican senators the group has targeted.

Phillips said Corker topped the list because he thinks the senator "has done many things to sell out the conservative Tennesseans who put him in office."

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