Republican 2d District Congressional nominee Tim Burchett isn’t taking anything for granted in the final week of the midterm elections. Two key Republican House leaders are coming to Tennessee for a November 4th fundraiser/rally in Knoxville for the conservative former Mayor of Knox County.
House Freedom Caucus Founder Jim Jordan (R-OH, 4th District) and Mark Meadows (R-NC, 11th District), the current Chair of the Freedom Caucus, will be guests at the event to be held at 4 pm the home of Scott and Hope Davis, 1515 Ashland Springs Rd. Tickets are just $50 and those interested should email [email protected] for details and to get tickets.
Both men have been mentioned as potential candidates for Speaker if the Republicans maintain control of the House after the November 6 election. Current Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced in April that he was not going to seek reelection. If Republicans successfully retain the House majority it is expected that it will be by a narrow margin of only a handful of seats.
Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill noted that the event is a good opportunity for Burchett to raise money and create visibility heading into Election Day. But the two Republican leaders coming to town also indicates that the stakes will be high and margins tight in the next session of Congress.
“If Republicans keep control of the House it will be very narrowly, and if Pelosi takes the gavel she may also have a small margin of a dozen seats of less,” Gill said. “Either way, the Freedom Caucus will play a key role in blocking or passing legislation. Adding a few more like-minded members like Tim would increase their clout and capacity to drive a conservative agenda in the House whenever possible.”
Anyone who knows Tim’s political past, and also knows how frugal he is personally, would have no doubt that he belongs in the Freedom Caucus.
What a pleasant surprise! I knew that Mark Green will join Scott DesJarlais as a member of the House Freedom Caucus but I didn’t think that Tim Burchett was conservative enough to be a member as well. With Marsha taking Corker’s place and David Kustoff already proving to be much more conservative than Stephen Fincher it does appear that Tennessee’s congressional delegation is moving definitively to the right.
The only thing that potentially will upset this happy picture is John Rose replacing Diane Black. I fear a move to the left with that order of succession. All conservatives should keep an eye on the Heritage scorecard when it is issued next year because John Rose has to be watched with the 2020 election in mind.