Unexpected Sheriff’s race in Williamson County a possible turnout boon for Blackburn

Who would have thought that the arrest of a singing sheriff addicted to painkillers would be the best thing to happen to Congressman Marsha Blackburn this election cycle.

Blackburn, who faces Shelby County’s Register of Deeds Tom Leatherwood in Thursday’s Republican primary, doesn’t have to worry as much as getting her base vote out. A Williamson County Sheriff’s race has taken care of that.

On January 31, 2007, Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley was arrested for obtaining narcotics without a prescription. As part of a plea arrangement, he resigned from office on February 13 of this year and was sentenced to five years probation. That resignation set the stage for the election of a new Williamson County Sheriff on Thursday.

When Headley was arrested, and even at the time of his resignation, no one really expected that one of the biggest beneficiaries of his misdeeds would be the darling of Williamson County’s GOP machine, U.S. Congressman Marsha Blackburn.

Blackburn has always thrived on being in the middle of a fight. She made her biggest mark on Tennessee politics as a State Senator fighting Governor Don Sundquist’s proposal for a state income tax in 1999.

Now, she is in the middle of another battle that is about as unexpected as Sundquist’s income tax proposal. While Blackburn is almost certain to rack up another victory with this contest, the future is more uncertain.

On March 25th of this year, Leatherwood shocked the state’s political establishment by announcing on Memphis radio that he would challenge her in the Republican primary.

Leatherwood sent a letter to potential supporters about Blackburn that stated, “Today I feel compelled to point out that our own incumbent Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn from Williamson County has been "talking the talk" but not "walking the walk". I served in the State Senate with Marsha and I consider her a friend but she has not been effective or focused on the job we elected her to do. It is time for her to come home and let someone else represent the needs of our district effectively.”

Charges were then levied by Leatherwood that her family had profited from her being in office through either working for her campaign or as lobbyists. He then hit her for sloppy book keeping, going on congressional “junkets” and blamed her for not doing anything to halt the rise of the federal deficit.

Not being one to let a punch go unanswered, Blackburn has fired back with endorsements from the National Rifle Association, former U.S. Senator Bill Frist and current U.S. Senator’s Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker. She has broken personal fundraising records and hit Leatherwood hard over issues of immigration and fuel prices.

For an incumbent to the United States Congress not named Larry Craig that should have been the end of the story, but it wasn’t. Blackburn never should have had to look in the rear view mirror to see whether anyone was gaining on her or not.

In March, the Memphis Commercial Appeal broke the news that Blackburn had to report to the Federal Election Commission that her campaign bookkeepers had failed to report over a quarter of a million dollars in campaign expenses dating back to her 2002 run for congress.

That same week, NashvillePost.com reported that a number of Republican political operatives had had enough of her scorched earth political tactics and were happy to see her on the defensive.

Then in July, Gannett Company, Inc., owners of the Tennessean, reported from Washington D.C. that Blackburn’s son-in-law, Paul J. Ketchel III, had been paid about $1 million to lobby the federal government since 2004.

There was also the presidential hopscotch Blackburn played. She first endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, then former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, then back to Romney. She eventually landed with Arizona’s U.S. Senator John McCain when the Republican presidential primary was all but over.

Team Blackburn has weathered the storm and appears, at least superficially, to be none the worse.

Since the March, most of the same sources that said Blackburn and her shop were overbearing and overly aggressive have been contacted again. This time they say they have seen a more humble Blackburn on the campaign trail and much better organized campaign structure.

Blackburn’s response to City Paper inquiries about the mood of the electorate seemed to echo those sentiments.

"I've been knocking on doors all across the district with our great team of volunteers, and voters are energized about the issues,” Blackburn said. “They see this election for what it is and they're concerned about prices at the pump, the economy, and wasteful government spending. When you focus on issues that matter, people respond.”

According to Blackburn’s campaign spokesperson, Darcy Anderson, nothing has been taken for granted.

"We've knocked on more than 20,000 doors to get people involved and out to the polls, and we expect a great turnout on election day,” Anderson said. “ While our opponent is making the race about one county, we think it's important to listen and engage voters throughout the entire district and they are responding very well to that."

Leatherwood claimed similar enthusiasm.

“We have built great momentum in this campaign and are working hard to stay focused on the important issues.We need to end the congressional ban on domestic drilling so we can increase the supply and bring down the price of gas. We need to keep securing our borders, enforce our laws and stop illegal immigration,” Leatherwood said. “I oppose taxpayer funded benefits for illegal immigrants. We are taking our message door to door in the neighborhoods and to the voting locations. It is important to have as much personal contact as possible in the final days of a campaign.”

Despite the Blackburn campaigns jab at Leatherwood and Shelby County, there is one other county that is significant in the race — Williamson County.

When Blackburn won election to the United States Congress in 2002, she got a major assist from Shelby County. That year, three prominent West Tennessee Republicans split the primary vote and Blackburn, being fresh off the income tax victory and the sole Middle Tennessee candidate, chalked up the win. This time, there is only one Shelby County candidate.

Leatherwood, to say the least, is not expected to do well when Middle Tennessee votes are counted. Likely, he is looking at an old Democratic Party playbook used in statewide elections. He needs to hold his own in the Eastern part of the 7th congressional district, catch up in the middle, and pull ahead in the West. More realistically, he needs Williamson County to secede from the Union between now and Thursday.

Blackburn really isn’t running against Leatherwood at this point, she is running against her future. The Williamson County Sheriff’s race is a boon in this capacity.

It is no secret that she has her sights set on higher office, be it the U.S. Senate or the governor’s office. Should expectations hold and she wins Thursday’s primary, aspirations for a higher office would be greatly enhanced by a lopsided victory.

The area of the 7th congressional district that Blackburn counts on most is Williamson County. Before the Headley situation erupted, there was no compelling reason for Middle Tennessee Republicans to take part in the primary election. Because of Headley though, eight men are vying for his old job.

While there is only one name listed as the official Republican candidate, Jeff Long, all of the other candidates have identified themselves as either “conservative” or “Republican” even though they will not appear on the ballot that way.

What this means is that the Blackburn’s core constituency will be driven to the polls by eight men trying to replace a singing sheriff. It is a great opportunity for her to try to run up the score and quash further insurrection in her district.