GOP/POLITICAL FIGURES: “Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) will not run for reelection after reconsidering his decision last fall to retire, his chief of staff said Tuesday [2-27-18].
After listening to some Tennessee Republicans and GOP senators who were privately urging him to run, the two-term senator and Foreign Relations Committee chairman decided that this will be his last year as senator, said Todd Womack, Corker’s chief of staff. The move ends a period of intense speculation in Tennessee and Washington about Corker’s future and avoids what could have been an ugly primary between Corker and Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn…
Corker has been speaking to President Donald Trump with some frequency in recent weeks after a tense back-and-forth between the two last fall. The White House made clear to the senator’s team that the president would not get involved in a potential primary between Corker and Blackburn, according to a source familiar with the conversations.
Republican strategists believe Corker might have needed an endorsement from Trump to reenter the race and beat Blackburn…
Recent polls by groups supporting Blackburn showed her with a significant advantage over Corker, though a presidential endorsement could have changed the trajectory of the race.”
-Burgess Everett, “Corker decides against reelection bid, sticks with retirement,” Politico, Feb. 27, 2018 10:41am