Tennessee State Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) announced he has “no plans” to run for Congress in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District amid the announcement of incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green’s (R-TN-07) retirement.
“For me, family is more important than any congressional title in Washington DC. I’m honored to be your state senator and have no plans to run for congress,” Powers wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
On February 12, Powers (pictured above) said he turned in his reelection petition and is “looking forward” to serving four more years in the Tennessee Senate.
So far, former State Representative Brandon Ogles has been the only Republican to launch a candidacy for the U.S. House seat.
In December 2023, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, launched her campaign for the seat.
Barry served as Music City’s mayor from 2015 until 2018, when she resigned in disgrace after it emerged that she spent nearly $175,000 of taxpayer money while carrying out a two-year affair with her bodyguard and used taxpayer resources and vehicles to facilitate the affair at the Nashville City Cemetery.
Meanwhile, four possible GOP candidates – Dr. Omar Hamada, Robby Starbuck, Jeff Beierlein, and State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) – have since expressed an interest to The Tennessee Star in representing Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.
The filing deadline for candidates to enter the race is April 4.
Green, who serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his decision not to seek reelection after successfully leading the House impeachment vote of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The congressman 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.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
