NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee U.S. Rep. David Kustoff says he won’t run for an open Senate seat next year after previously hinting he was considering jumping into the competitive race.
Kustoff tweeted last week that he and his wife decided he should continue working in the House and help reelect President Donald Trump.
The Tennessee Senate seat is being vacated now that GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander announced he wouldn’t seek a fourth term in 2020.
Currently, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty and trauma surgeon Manny Sethi are the leading Republican candidates in the race. GOP Knoxville doctor Josh Gapp has also recently launched his bid for the seat.
On the Democratic side, Nashville attorney and former Army helicopter pilot James Mackler has announced his candidacy.