[ambrose]

Can he take away another Republican seat?

Depends on his opponent, wouldn't ya say?

[One More Time]

TENN US SENATE RACE: ALEXANDER, BRYANT (HOUSE MANAGER) VIE FOR SENATE

[Dan from Michigan]

I hope that ultra left gun grabber Ford gets beat BAD.

[anniegetyourgun]

Help me out here, is this guy African-American?

[Ahban]

Ford is smart, smooth, and dangerous. Looks bad for the GOP in Tennessee.

[Consort]

Ford will be nearly impossible to beat. He's popular, articulate, and soft spoken. The GOP candidate, whoever it is, will have to run a first-class campaign and she will have to leverage her African American conservative background to the fullest.

[volchef]

I'm not worried about this at all. East Tennesseans and for the most part Nashvillians want nothing to do with Memphis and their politicians. I'll agree that he does well on the national tv circuit, but people in Tenn. know what a horrible inner city hood Memphis has become and don't wish to spread it to the rest of the state. Memphis' liberal ways have dug it into a deep hole. It's unlikely it'll ever recover.

[cva66snipe]

Ford running? Great plenty and plenty of dirt and mud in the Ford political history. Thankfully they didn't pick Bob Clement. Go ED Bryant. Go Marsha Blackburn, Go Jimmy Duncan, Fords all yours!!!! Lamar Alexander? Just go away! Let's put some backbone back in the senate!

[Eternal_Bear]

don't let him Memphisize all of Tennessee. He is a moderate like Clinton was a moderate.

[SmartBlonde]

This does not bode well for the RNC.

Ford is a very good looking man, he has that soft spoken 'see, I'm so reasonable' voice that Daschle and Edwards use to their advantage, he SOUNDS moderate and measured. He is excellent on television - articulate and focused. He seems very serious, as though he's concerned about every voter.

Alexander is going nowhere. And frankly, while I think Ed Bryant is a very nice man and I agree with him about a lot of things, he is very bad on t.v. Next to Ford, he will appear old, out-dated and boring.

[connectthedots]

If Gore couldn't carry Tennessee, neither will Ford.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Ford might well win the Democratic Senate nomination in a multi-candidate field for the reasons I outlined on another thread:

Primary elections in most states require a certain minimum to avoid a runoff. A majority (50% plus 1) used to be the typical requirement; some states have gone to 40%. Tennessee has NO primary runoffs; the winner of a plurality, no matter how unimpressive it might be, gets the nomination. In 1996, 17-term District 1 Congressman Jimmy Quillen (R) decided not to seek reelection. In this most Republican district (mountains of East Tennessee), the GOP nomination is tantamount to victory. An 11-way primary ensued, won by Bill Jenkins -- with 18% of the vote. He's still in Congress.

Needless to say, the no-runoff system can produce some odd results, and it may this year, too. My guess is that if two or more Congressmen seek the GOP Senate nomination (Ed Bryant has already announced), it would sew up the race for Lamar! based on statewide name recognition. On the other side, a multi-candidate Democratic race could result in the nomination going to Harold Ford, since he would be (if he runs) the beneficiary of an automatic black bloc vote. That would suit me fine; he has no chance of winning the general election.

I repeat, Ford has no chance -- NONE -- of winning in the general election.

[southernnorthcarolina]

ACU ratings for the Tennessee Congessional delegation are here. Ford is grossly out of step with the state. His message may play in the ghetto, but that's as far as it goes.

[Libertarian_4_eva]

He most likely shares the same views as those on the ultra left ford foundation. If you do not know the ford foundation it is an ultra leftwing group that funds most of the extemeists on the left. Everything from enviro-wackos to black-nationalist groups.

[madison46]

Ford is a hate monger. If TN didn't go for Gore, I can't believe they would go for Ford.

[VA Advogado]

Can he take away another Republican seat?

Aint gonna happen.

[bert]

Ford's mother provided him with the ultimate gift. She provided him the genes of a white father. Although named Ford, he is not his "father's" son.

[Redbob]

He'll get the Memphis vote, but that's about it.

His opponents are bound to bring out Ford's record of looney-tune behavior.