Still Undecided About Another Run, Corker Says He Expects Challenges If He Does

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker has his first Republican challenger next year — if he decides to seek re-election.

Conservative activist Andrew Ogles announced Thursday that he’s running for the seat, which Corker has held since 2007. Others might not be far behind.

Corker has wavered recently about running for a third term. He promises a decision “very soon.” But if he does run again, Corker says he expects the road to re-election won’t be easy.

“Look, there are going to be primaries, OK?” Corker said at a press conference Thursday. “No one should expect they’re going to run, in this environment, with the frustrations that people share — that I share — without having people who are interested in primaries.”

Ogles could be a legitimate contender for the seat. Since 2013, he’s led the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the libertarian group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers. He also advised Newt Gingrich when he ran for president in 2012.

And Ogles might not be Corker’s only challenger. State Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, is considering running. He was President Trump’s onetime nominee to be Army Secretary.

So is former state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas. He came within 10 percentage points of defeating Tennessee’s other senator, Lamar Alexander, in the GOP primary just three years ago. That’s the slimmest margin of victory in the Republican primary for an incumbent senator in state history.

Nashville attorney James Mackler has announced plans to run for the Senate seat, on the Democratic side.