Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) is reconsidering retiring from Congress less than two weeks after announcing he was “ready to return home” from Washington D.C.
Green, who was elected to Congress in 2018, is considering ditching his retirement plans and instead running for re-election, according to NewsChannel 5, which reached out to the congressman’s office to confirm the developments.
The news comes as Punchbowl News further reported that Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is among those urging Green to stay in Congress.
Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), who previously expressed an interest in launching a bid for Green’s U.S. House seat, is also calling on the incumbent congressman to reconsider retiring and instead run for re-election.
“People have asked me about running for Congress and here are my thoughts. Mark Green is a tough act to follow! As far as I’m concerned, he is the one who needs to be our representative in Congress,” Roberts said in a statement to The Tennessee Star. “I’m going to say publicly what I know a lot of Tennesseans think: we wish he would run for reelection! He is doing a great job for us in Congress and he is the one we need fighting the fight on our behalf.”
“I hope Mark will reconsider and run for reelection,” Roberts added.
Green, who serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his decision not to seek reelection on February 14, one day after successfully leading the House impeachment vote of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Green said at the time he was “ready to return home” after delivering on his promise to “pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable.”
So far, the only Republican to launch a candidacy for Green’s U.S. House seat has been former State Representative Brandon Ogles.
Meanwhile, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, launched her campaign for the seat in December 2023.
The filing deadline for candidates to enter the race for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District is April 4.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep Mark Green” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
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