Bryant Lands Major Endorsement

B4b has the goods. The Tennessee Senate race pits two conservatives, former Rep. Ed Bryant and former Rep. Van Hilleary, against flip-flopper Bob Corker. Both Bryant and Hilleary have bonifed conservative credentials, but it was Bryant who served as a pro-life leader during his time in the House. While both have lost statewide races, Bryant lost a primary to now-Senator Lamar Alexander while Hilleary lost a general election to now-Gov. Phil Bredesen. Hilleary ran a less-than-stellar campaign and now appears to be running for whatever he can get.

Tennessee Right to Life is a major player in state politics, but is, of course, not the only major player. The best case scenario for either of the conservatives would be for the other to drop out, resulting in a 1-on-1 match-up against Corker. The best way for this to happen is for conservatives to fall in line behind one of the two, leaving the other in a position where it remains difficult to justify remaining in the race. The endorsement is not enough in and of itself to force Hilleary out of the race, but it creates an environment in which conservative organizations looking for either of the candidates who are not Bob Corker to make decisions about their endorsements knowing that, regardless of what they do, Bryant will have significant conservative backing. Thus, a Hilleary endorsement by one or more of those groups would ensure a divided base and create the most likely scenario for Corker's nomination.

As I have said before, Ed Bryant offers conservatives our best chance of keeping the seat, and would make for a more reliably conservative Senator than Hilleary. This endorsement is welcome news and, hopefully, will begin to plant the seeds of doubt in Hilleary's head as to whether he really belongs in the race.