State Sen. Mark Norris says he won't run for governor

Southern Standard
December 14, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  — State Sen. Mark Norris said he will not run for governor next year, dismissing speculation that he would seek the Republican nomination to challenge Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Norris, of Collierville, is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, which held its first hearing Tuesday on reports of political favoritism and criminal backgrounds of some employees at the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

He previously said that he had no plans to run in 2006 against Bredesen, but did not rule it out.

"I will not be a candidate for governor in 2006," Norris said Tuesday after the hearing, adding that he wants the THP hearings to be conducted in "an even-keeled, bipartisan, nonpartisan way."

Some other Tennesseans who were once considered prospective candidates have declared they will not run, including: businessman-banker B.C. "Scooter" Clippard of Nashville, Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey of Blountville and former state House Republican Leader Jim Henry of Kingston.

State Rep. Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, a former state GOP chairwoman, and state Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin, are still considering it.