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Stephen Fincher appears in Dickson with his former opponents from the Republican primary.

If congressional campaigns are measured by fundraising and TV ads, Tennessee’s 8th District is the most competitive in the state.

On one side, Roy Herron is a long-time state legislator, a former Methodist minister and a big outdoorsman. Maybe in another year it would be the perfect resume, but he’s also a Democrat. The Republican nominee, Stephen Fincher, has zero political experience, no voting record, yet plenty of supporters ready to give the GOP a try.

Fincher makes a point in every appearance to mention where he’s from – Frog Jump. It just has a ring to it, especially from a 37-year-old sandy-haired farmer who has a knack for being folksy.

“I’m going to put it out, plain and simple. As I say, I’m going to put the hay down where the goats can eat it,” he says.

Fincher doesn’t like anything Democrats have done lately. He wants to repeal what he calls “Obamacare” and disband a new consumer protection agency.

Fincher Recognizes Legacy of Democrats

Fincher doesn’t ignore the long history Democrats have in this district. They’ve represented the area north and west of Nashville as long as anyone has been alive. But with Congressman John Tanner’s retirement, Fincher tells crowds it’s time for a change.

“This may be a news flash for some of you but my grandparents were Democrats. Ed Jones was a good representative. John Tanner was a good representative,” Fincher says. “But this is not the party of my grandparents any more. It’s the party of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. And they don’t represent the 8th District of Tennessee or most places in this country.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee is pounding the same anti-Pelosi theme, airing TV ads on Fincher’s behalf.

“Want to put the brakes on Pelosi?” the NRCC’s ad asks over the sound of a train screeching to a halt. “Vote against Roy Herron.”

Roy Herron talks to reporters at the State Capitol.

But Roy Herron says hold that train.

Herron Won’t Vote for Pelosi

“I understand that my opponent would rather run against a woman from California than a country boy from Tennessee, but he ought to be man enough to step up and run against me,” Herron says.

The Democrat says he doesn’t plan on doing Pelosi’s bidding. In fact, he’s pledged not to vote for her as House Speaker.

Herron suggests he’s paying a high price for his independent streak. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has pulled the plug on paying for TV ads. Democrats in Washington believe the money can be better spent elsewhere. Herron says if that’s the cost of following his conscience, “so be it.”

Instead of spending lots of time on hot button issues like health care and social security, the long-time state senator is trying to sell voters on his political philosophy.

“I’ve never accomplished anything in the General Assembly without working with members from both parties,” he tells a crowd in Jackson. “Because if it’s really important, it takes members of both parties.”

Surrogates Follow on Attack of Partisanship

That’s a dig at Republican Stephen Fincher who says he doesn’t plan to work with the Democratic administration. Herron and his surrogates, like the outgoing Congressman John Tanner, have latched onto those comments.

“I don’t agree with my wife on everything but it doesn’t mean we’re going to get a divorce,” Tanner says. “You don’t have to agree on everything to engage constructively in trying to look at our problems. This country is in a ditch.”

Hyper-partisanship is a big part of what drove the country in that ditch, Tanner says.

To get the spotlight off Herron and his party affiliation, the campaign has attacked Fincher on TV, saying he’s “hiding from the truth and “flirting with a felony.”

The issue is financial disclosure. Fincher originally filed with the Federal Election Commission a document that says he gave his own campaign $250,000, but it later came out the money was from a bank in Crockett County. Fincher hasn’t disclosed terms of the loan as required, but he says it’s not an issue.

“The loan is legal, Fincher says. “The bank has said it’s legal. The bank’s attorney has said it’s legal. The FEC has said it’s legal. There’s nothing there.”

The FEC hasn’t explicitly called the loan legal. No formal opinion has been issued, and one may not come until after Election Day if ever.

Fincher Flips Negative Attacks on Herron

The suggestion that he’s trying to hide something, Fincher says, is off-putting. Fincher says the tactic goes against his opponent’s own stated views about campaigns.

“Where’s my book?” Fincher asks an aide to find his paperback copy of “God and Politics.”

“Quoting – ‘The ugliest campaign attacks I’ve endured came when a fellow Christian ran against me,’” Fincher reads from page 18 of Roy Herron’s book. “’His campaign’s political operatives and some supporters spent many resources not promoting him, but attacking my values and characters, and this was a campaign between fellow believers.’”

These two Methodists have split conservative endorsements. Herron is one of just a handful of Democrats endorsed by the National Rifle Association. Fincher has the backing of the National Right to Life and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m kind of pulling for the little guy,” says voter Wes Harris of Jackson. He doesn’t give much weight to who is endorsing whom. He’s looking at values and character, and he likes Stephen Fincher.

“He seems like he can reach the common man kind of thing,” Harris says. “And that kind of touches me in a way that nobody else seems to be able to do that.”

But the “little guy” Harris likes isn’t the underdog. The Frog Jump farmer is polling ahead of the well-heeled Roy Herron with less than two weeks until Election Day.

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