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TIGHT RACES EXPECTED IN 1ST AND 9TH DISTRICTS
By Woody Baird
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
August 7, 2008 Thursday 6:27 PM GMT
Two congressional primaries that Tennessee voters will decide Thursday
turned ugly at the end, with allegations of lying, allusions to the
Ku Klux Klan and an Armenian advocate shoved out the door.
Steve Cohen, the first white congressman from Memphis in more than
three decades and the only Jewish member of the state's congressional
delegation, faced TV ads in the closing days of his first primary
campaign for re-election that juxtaposed photos of him and a hooded
Klansman.
The ads were approved by Cohen's chief opponent, Nikki Tinker,
a corporate lawyer whose supporters argue that the majority black
9th District should be represented by an African-American. Tinker
phrases it as a campaign about "diversity" in Congress and the need
for change in Washington.
In the 1st District in northeast Tennessee, a mailer from incumbent
Republican Rep. David Davis accused opponent Phil Roe, the Johnson City
mayor, of "lying" about Davis. Roe responded at a recent GOP pig roast
that he'd "never been called a liar in my life" and said in years gone
by "if somebody called you a liar, you'd ask them to step outside."
Davis ignored the comment and told the crowd, "We're going to go out
and tell the truth, and we're going to earn your vote." He said it was
"unfortunate this campaign has gotten as negative as it did."
Congressional incumbents from Tennessee are rarely voted out of
office. Voters in the reliably Republican 1st District haven't ousted
an incumbent congressman since 1930, and heavily Democratic Memphis
has consistently returned incumbents to the U.S. House since 1974.
Four of Tennessee's congressional incumbents faced no primary
opposition Republican John Duncan of the 2nd District, and Democrats
Jim Cooper of the 5th, Bart Gordon of the 6th and John Tanner of
the 8th.
Republican Marsha Blackburn faced challenger Tom Leatherwood in the
7th District, while Republican Zach Wamp in the 3rd District and
Democrat Lincoln Davis in the 4th District faced only token opposition.
Cohen and Davis each won crowded primaries two years ago, Cohen with
33 percent and Davis with 22 percent.
The campaign between Davis, a health care business owner, and Roe,
a retired obstetrician/gynecologist, heated up toward the end, moving
from joint stump appearances to negative ads.
It started over political action committee money. Roe refused it and
personally loaned his campaign $250,000, though Davis charged many
of Roe's contributors were special-interest donors physicians.
Roe ran a TV ad accusing Davis of selling out to "Big Oil" by accepting
money from industry PACs and backing legislation supporting offshore
drilling. Davis countered with radio ads denying he "pocketed"
oil money, accused Roe of deceptive campaign practices and said
"the voters of East Tennessee deserve better."
In Memphis, Tinker said her ad linking Cohen to the KKK for opposing
a 2005 effort to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford
Forrest "merely states the facts. I think the nation needs to know
Steve Cohen's complete record."
Cohen, a former state senator with a long record as a civil rights
advocate, held a news conference at his home Wednesday to call the ad
and another accusing him of opposing school prayer acts of desperation.
The conference was interrupted by a cameraman who identified himself
as working for an Armenian-American citizens' group. Cohen pushed the
man out of his house and called police. Peter Musurlian of Glendale,
Calif., said his group is supporting Tinker because Cohen opposed
a House resolution labeling the killing of Armenians in World War I
as genocide.
By Woody Baird
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
August 7, 2008 Thursday 6:27 PM GMT
Two congressional primaries that Tennessee voters will decide Thursday
turned ugly at the end, with allegations of lying, allusions to the
Ku Klux Klan and an Armenian advocate shoved out the door.
Steve Cohen, the first white congressman from Memphis in more than
three decades and the only Jewish member of the state's congressional
delegation, faced TV ads in the closing days of his first primary
campaign for re-election that juxtaposed photos of him and a hooded
Klansman.
The ads were approved by Cohen's chief opponent, Nikki Tinker,
a corporate lawyer whose supporters argue that the majority black
9th District should be represented by an African-American. Tinker
phrases it as a campaign about "diversity" in Congress and the need
for change in Washington.
In the 1st District in northeast Tennessee, a mailer from incumbent
Republican Rep. David Davis accused opponent Phil Roe, the Johnson City
mayor, of "lying" about Davis. Roe responded at a recent GOP pig roast
that he'd "never been called a liar in my life" and said in years gone
by "if somebody called you a liar, you'd ask them to step outside."
Davis ignored the comment and told the crowd, "We're going to go out
and tell the truth, and we're going to earn your vote." He said it was
"unfortunate this campaign has gotten as negative as it did."
Congressional incumbents from Tennessee are rarely voted out of
office. Voters in the reliably Republican 1st District haven't ousted
an incumbent congressman since 1930, and heavily Democratic Memphis
has consistently returned incumbents to the U.S. House since 1974.
Four of Tennessee's congressional incumbents faced no primary
opposition Republican John Duncan of the 2nd District, and Democrats
Jim Cooper of the 5th, Bart Gordon of the 6th and John Tanner of
the 8th.
Republican Marsha Blackburn faced challenger Tom Leatherwood in the
7th District, while Republican Zach Wamp in the 3rd District and
Democrat Lincoln Davis in the 4th District faced only token opposition.
Cohen and Davis each won crowded primaries two years ago, Cohen with
33 percent and Davis with 22 percent.
The campaign between Davis, a health care business owner, and Roe,
a retired obstetrician/gynecologist, heated up toward the end, moving
from joint stump appearances to negative ads.
It started over political action committee money. Roe refused it and
personally loaned his campaign $250,000, though Davis charged many
of Roe's contributors were special-interest donors physicians.
Roe ran a TV ad accusing Davis of selling out to "Big Oil" by accepting
money from industry PACs and backing legislation supporting offshore
drilling. Davis countered with radio ads denying he "pocketed"
oil money, accused Roe of deceptive campaign practices and said
"the voters of East Tennessee deserve better."
In Memphis, Tinker said her ad linking Cohen to the KKK for opposing
a 2005 effort to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford
Forrest "merely states the facts. I think the nation needs to know
Steve Cohen's complete record."
Cohen, a former state senator with a long record as a civil rights
advocate, held a news conference at his home Wednesday to call the ad
and another accusing him of opposing school prayer acts of desperation.
The conference was interrupted by a cameraman who identified himself
as working for an Armenian-American citizens' group. Cohen pushed the
man out of his house and called police. Peter Musurlian of Glendale,
Calif., said his group is supporting Tinker because Cohen opposed
a House resolution labeling the killing of Armenians in World War I
as genocide.