McWherter Says He’s Out

Reports that Mike McWherter isn’t going to run against Sen. Lamar Alexander have surfaced this morning around the blogosphere.

I’ll be honest, I know nothing, but I’m wondering a couple of things.

First of all, would the Lott resignation and Alexander immediately looking at seeking  his Republican Whip position be part of McWherter’s reasoning not to run. When you think about it, and Sean Braisted has it right, the Dems most likely won’t sink a lot of money in the campaign. There was a certainty to McWherter seeking the seat (or at least the illusion of one) less than two months ago.

Would recent events, combined with former Sen. Fred Thompson’s decision to seek the presidency, force McWherter back into the shadows? And when I say shadows, I basically mean back into a pretty cushy position of being a kingmaker and not one of the kings (elected folks) as McWherter has been very successful in some campaigns around the state, including Sen. Lowe Finney’s.

Another thing really hinges on whether or not McWherter wanted to run in a race that he didn’t have a guaranteed win. McWherter’s father, Ned, was very popular during his time in Nashville. A loss is not something that the younger McWherter even wants to chance right now. It’s a lot of money, a year’s worth of campaigning and a tight race.

For one thing, it’s a loss for northwest Tennessee, who after years of being power hitters in the state’s capital when Ned was there (and even from the day’s of Fats Everett while he was in Congress in the sixties) has seen a decline of power. Sure, Jimmy Naifeh is the house speaker, Philip Pinion is the chair of house transportation commission, but those positions don’t have, for lack of a better word, the sexiness that Ned’s glory years did in the past.

In some ways, most likely McWherter had a better chance of beating Alexander than anyone else. On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder why he pushed for it across the state, then backed up.

Curious. I guess that’s why they call it an exploratory committee.

Apparently McWherter found something in his explorations he didn’t like.