Tennessee GOP Challengers Struggle
To beat Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, Republican primary challengers Joe Carr and George Flinn both say they could use help from the conservative groups that propelled insurgent GOP challengers elsewhere. But as early voting in the GOP primary began Friday, no cavalry is coming to help Mr. Carr or Mr. Flinn. The outside money has largely stayed home.
On paper, Mr. Alexander may seem ripe for a strong primary challenge. The two-term incumbent is a relatively centrist Republican; the magazine National Journal last year rated him the fifth most-liberal Republican senator. He voted for last year's Senate immigration bill, which many base GOP voters reject, and is seen as a deal maker, not a hard-edged conservative. But Tennessee Republicans don't have a history of electing ideologically driven candidates to statewide posts. Both Mr. Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker are seen as middle-of-the-road Republicans.
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The challengers draw hope from David Brat, the economics professor who was little-noticed beyond Virginia before his upset victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a GOP primary in June, and from Chris McDaniel's near-victory over Sen. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.)... Replicating Mr. Brat's victory is easier said than done. In January 2012, Mr. Alexander resigned from his Senate GOP leadership post, a surprise move aimed at helping insulate him from any perception that he isn't focused on Tennessee issues. Mr. Cantor, by contrast, faced criticism that he wasn't focused enough on his district as he helped run the House.
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Tennessee has no runoff provision, so Mr. Alexander's opponents would have to defeat him outright. With two challengers raising money, and four more on the ballot, that is a far tougher task.
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