Ford is age 31, more than the 30 required to run for Senate, but he's only got major support in Memphis. He would have zero chance of winning a statewide seat.
Gore has already ruled out running for Thomspon's seat. He knows he lost the presidency due to his own state voting for the other guy. His popularity here hasn't improved any over the last year.
Lamar is a political has been, both realistically and by his choice. He'll never win another elected office.
Don Sundquist is almost universally reviled throughout the state, with the exception of those few who would benefit from an income tax. The mere mention of his name can launch an hours long diatribe with many in TN. If the Devil himself ran against Don Sundquist, the Devil would win it in a landslide. I cannot overstate how much hatred is directed toward this man by TN Republicans. And he deserves every bit of it. He campaigned in bad faith, promising voters one thing, then after the election he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the complete opposite of what he campaigned as. Left without any recourse to remove him from office, Tennesseans' hatred for the man has simmered and concentrated for over three years.
Thompson is a good man and a good conservative, hopelessly misguided and naive about campaign finance reform, but otherwise good. His career in politics is unlimited. He would make a very credible VP candidate in 2004 or a Supreme Court nominee. Since he was involved in prosecuting Nixon during Watergate, many Democrats probably feel sentimentally favorable toward him and would likely confirm his nomination.
Keep your eye on Ed Bryant. Without a doubt, he'll announce he's running for Thompson's seat. Whether he wins it or not is uncertain, but the Democrats won't have any better candidate.
I'll have more info from an inside source within minutes. I'll post what I know.
I swear I'd vote for a Democrat before I'd vote for Taxquist again.
As for possible canidates, I have to agree that Blakburn would be a great senator and would be a great canidate to pull Middle Tennessee which has been slowly turning over the years from Liberal to Conservative, especially Williamson County which I believe is the fastest growing county in the state. She would carry East Tennessee easily. So if she got middle and East it would carry over all the West Tennessee Democratic vote.
Other possibles that I would like to see would be Senator Tim Burchett from Knoxville. This guy is a young standup conservative and actually has common sense. Although his roadkill bill from years ago would probaly bring him some good natured ribbing from the demos. I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.
It wouldn't surprise me if Victor Ashe, mayor of Knoxville, threw his hat in the ring since he is out in 2003 due to term limits. Whatever is done, we DO NOT want Victor Ashe. Although, it has been nice to seem him take on Taxquist and the DOT as of late.