Reply #20: TN: Lieutenant governor's contest may be a mystery worth decoding

[rumpel]

Tennessean.com

Sunday, 05/28/06

By LARRY DAUGHTREY

There's a race for governor of Tennessee underway in which voters will be bombarded with millions of dollars in TV ads as they are urged to choose between incumbent Democrat Phil Bredesen and the likely Republican nominee, state Sen. Jim Bryson of Franklin.
More than a million people will make the choice in November.

But the talk stirring the Capitol last week concerned the state's second highest office, lieutenant governor. A contest is evolving there that will be decided by 33 people, mostly in whispered deal-making in back rooms.

Unlike most other states, Tennessee's lieutenant governor is not elected by the people but by the state Senate. His duties are limited but strategic; he appoints Senate committees and thus controls the flow of legislation. Otherwise, he is on standby in case the governor dies or is incapacitated. That hasn't happened in 75 years.

For half that span, the lieutenant governor has been John Wilder, an eccentric cotton-farming millionaire from the West Tennessee crossroads of Mason. A nominal Democrat, Wilder has survived coup attempts by his own party and the Republicans, operating in mysterious ways in a darkened Legislative Plaza office. He is now on the back side of 80.

Last year, Wilder persuaded two Republicans to join a Democratic minority to return him to office. It was a prime example of how the GOP has failed to deal effectively with recent political prosperity in Tennessee.

A lot has happened since then. Three of Wilder's Democratic senators have been indicted in a bribery scheme. Another Democrat defected to the Republicans. A replacement Democrat has been ousted for election fraud by the Republicans. With a vacant seat, Republicans now have an 18-14 majority. Barring major upsets, that majority is likely to remain next year.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/COLUMNIST0105/605280353/1099/NEWS