New-old (R) candidate in TN Senate race...

[riceowl]

So it begins - again - for Ed Bryant.

He will spend the next six months proving to Tennessee Republicans that the guy from the left (geographically) is right (ideologically) for the job of replacing Bill Frist in the U.S. Senate.

Bryant crossed a soggy Volunteer State on Thursday, announcing his candidacy in eight cities, including his hometown of Jackson.
"What's going on in Washington in terms of Tennessee and national issues is what's called me back to public service," Bryant said Thursday, referring to spiraling budget deficits and the standard litany of "hot-button" social issues that concern GOP conservatives.

"We've got to get the ship righted - and that's the correct spelling in this case," said Bryant, who has spent the past four years in private practice with Waldrop & Hall in Jackson, and teaching at Union University.

Four years ago, Bryant ran a strong second in the Republican Senate primary, but could not overcome the overwhelming name recognition Lamar Alexander had gained in two terms as governor as well as stints as the U.S. secretary of education and president of the University of Tennessee.

This time, Bryant runs against Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and Van Hilleary, a four-term congressman from Murfreesboro who lost in the 2002 governor's race to Phil Bredesen.