Blackburn to Decide on Senate Run Within a Week, Campaign Says
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., intends to decide within a week whether she will seek the Republican nomination for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a Blackburn campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday. The spokeswoman pushed back…
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against reports that Blackburn would announce her candidacy as soon as Wednesday, saying Blackburn intends to evaluate her possible candidacy over the weekend with family. Corker said Tuesday he won't seek re-election next year to a third term, immediately opening speculation about a possible Blackburn candidacy and the accompanying contingency that she would vacate her chairmanship of House Communications at the end of the current Congress. Two communications sector lobbyists told us they fully expect Blackburn to run for Corker's seat. Blackburn's campaign Twitter account released a new campaign logo Tuesday but didn't tip whether she would seek the Senate seat. Blackburn was seen earlier this year as a possible candidate to replace Corker in the Senate if President Donald Trump nominated Corker as secretary of state (see 1612300029). Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld suggested the possibility of a Blackburn defeat in the Senate race Wednesday, saying in a Facebook post that she can be painted “as a tool of special interest, particularly cable/broadband.” He noted Blackburn's role in leading the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval effort that in March abolished FCC ISP privacy rules and her related difficulty in advancing the Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly Act (HR-2520) as potential liabilities in a Senate run.