After some reconsidering, Sen. Bob Corker has announced he will not seek reelection when his term expires at the end of 2018.
Corker's chief of staff, Todd Womack, confirmed to WBIR on Tuesday that the senator believes he made the right decision in September and will be leaving the Senate at the end of his term.
“Over the past several months, Senator Corker has been encouraged by people across Tennessee and in the Senate to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election. Based on the outpouring of support, we spent the last few days doing our due diligence and a clear path for re-election was laid out. However, at the end of the day, the senator believes he made the right decision in September and will be leaving the Senate when his term expires at the end of 2018," Womack said.
Corker, a Republican from Chattanooga, said serving in the Senate has been "the greatest privilege of my life."
Back in September, Tennessee's junior senator said the decision not to run for re-election was made with his wife and family.
Since making that announcement, he has been pressured to reconsider.
"When he ran for the Senate in 2006, he told Tennesseans that he couldn’t imagine serving for more than two terms because he has always been drawn to the citizen legislator model and believes public service should be missional," Womack said. "This has been the greatest privilege of his life and he is forever grateful to the people of the Volunteer State for the opportunity to serve our state and country.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, an eight-term Brentwood Republican, entered the race to replace Corker.
In an online video released with her announcement to run, Blackburn touted her conservative credentials while in Congress and the Tennessee legislature and her support for President Donald Trump and his policies.
Over the past year, President Donald Trump and Corker engaged in a public feud. Trump claimed Corker dropped out of the race in Tennessee when he refused to endorse him. Corker — who says Trump did actually offer to support his re-election bid — responded with a zinger: "Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff."
Lawmakers react
United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement:
“Bob Corker is a terrific United States senator and a good friend. I was disappointed in his decision not to run for reelection but respect that decision. I invited Marsha Blackburn to breakfast this morning. We had a good discussion about a variety of issues that we both care about and how we might work together to make the Senate a more effective institution.”
Marsha Blackburn released the following statement on Senator Bob Corker's announcement:
"I want to thank Senator Corker for his dedicated service on behalf of Tennessee families. Now, we can unify the Republican party and focus on defeating Democrat Phil Bredesen in November. As we continue to take our campaign to every corner of the state, I'm looking forward to listening to Tennesseans families and sharing my ideas on how we can get the United States Senate back to work and pass President Trump’s agenda."
The Bredesen for Senate campaign issued the following statement after Senator Bob Corker's announcement:
“Governor Bredesen is glad to see the race taking shape and he remains focused on running a 95-county campaign to win in November. The contrast between candidates is now clear. Tennessee voters can pick someone who caused gridlock in Washington over the past 15 years — or they can hire someone who has a proven track record of working across the aisle to get things done for all Tennesseans.” — Alyssa Hansen, Press Secretary, Bredesen For Senate
RELATED | WBIR caught up with Corker last week while he was in Knoxville. As of Thursday, he hadn't decided whether he would seek re-election.