Fincher Bows Out Of Senate Race, Urges Corker To Run

FROG JUMP, TN -- Republican Stephen Fincher, a former West Tennessee Congressman, announced Friday he is ending his campaign for the United States Senate and urged Sen. Bob Corker to reconsider retirement.

"The party must get behind a candidate that can win in November and stop Democrat Phil Bredesen, who would be a rubber stamp for the Chuck Schumer liberal agenda," Fincher, a farmer from tiny Frog Jump, said in a statement. "For that reason, I believe Senator Bob Corker should continue to serve in the U.S. Senate, and stand with the President to fight for Tennessee families."

Corker, who is coming to the end of his third time, was one of President Donald Trump's top Senate allies before the pair engaged in a public feud, during which Corker compared the White House to an adult day care and expressed concerns Trump could lead the country in World War III. For his part, the president mocked Corker's height.

Corker and the president have come to, at the very least, a detente in recent months and the senator has acknowledged that people are asking him to reconsider not seeking re-election.

A "Republican close to Blackburn" told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that Fincher left the race "because he knew he couldn't win."

"It's sad to see him band together with Trump opponent Bob Corker in a desperate and doomed attempt to try and stop the true Tennessee conservative who will fight for the president's agenda," the person told the paper.

Bredesen press secretary Alyssa Hansen said in a statement that Republican internecine squabbling has no effect on the former governor's campaign.

"These candidates are campaigning like they govern in Washington — name-calling and dividing — which is why Governor Bredesen's track-record and get-things-done attitude is resonating with Tennesseans. Whether he is in Memphis or Mountain City, Governor Bredesen is making his case for getting Congress back to basics. He is in this race to be an advocate for the people of Tennessee in the Senate, not to run against anyone," she wrote.

Prior to Fincher's announcement, Corker told WKRN Friday "Nothing has changed at present," indicating that, at least at that moment, he was still retiring.