Who knows whether former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist would be a good governor of Tennessee?
One potential benefit of his decision not to run for the office in 2010 is the likelihood of a competitive Republican primary. Already in the GOP hunt are Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, who are expected to be joined today by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, later by state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville, and, possibly, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood. Since they wrote that, Haslam has already jumped in. The potential Democratic contenders aren’t declaring yet, but there’s a big crop considering the race, as the Commercial Appeal pointed out in that same editorial: With Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen prohibited from running for a third term, Democratic mentionables include former state House Majority Leader Kim McMillan of Clarksville, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall, state Sen. Andy Berke of Chattanooga and former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis. Why are so many politicians thinking about running for governor in
