Phil Bredesen on US Senate race: ‘I’m not running against Donald Trump’

In their quest to retake control of the U.S. Senate next year, Democrats in most states will be out to exploit the perceived unpopularity of President Donald Trump against their Republican opponents.

But as Democrat Phil Bredesen begins his U.S. Senate campaign in reliably red Tennessee — where Trump won big last year — the former two-term governor isn’t adopting the script of national Democrats.

In an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, Bredesen sought to distance himself from the Trump-focused politics of Democrats in Washington, refraining from taking any shots against the president.

► More: Analysis: With Phil Bredesen in the US Senate race, can Democrats win?

► More: Former Gov. Phil Bredesen launches US Senate bid with campaign video

He also downplayed the role Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats had in getting him to run after a decade removed from the last time he was on the ballot in Tennessee. Bredesen insisted the possibility that a Democratic win in Tennessee could flip the Senate — which would be a damaging blow to Trump’s agenda — played no role in his decision.

“I’m not running against Donald Trump. I’m running for getting some things done here in Tennessee,” Bredesen said. “The issues surrounding health care are real and they’ve got nothing to do with liking or not liking Donald Trump.

“I would say that was zero consideration,” he said when asked about a Democratic majority perhaps hinging on Tennessee. “I do not intend to be, if I'm elected, a loyal foot soldier who’s always voting for everything that the Democratic Party wants. If I’m No. 50 or No. 51, it doesn’t help much.”

Senate race will require $50M, Bredesen predicts

Nevertheless, Bredesen said he won’t turn down money from national Democratic groups, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is expected to pour money into Tennessee with Bredesen now the clear favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Nashville attorney James Mackler is also running in the Democratic primary.

When combining independent expenditures and campaign funds of candidates, Bredesen predicted he would need $50 million or more to compete. It would make the race easily the most expensive in Tennessee history, crushing the amount spent in the 2006 Senate race between now-GOP Sen. Bob Corker and Democrat Harold Ford Jr.

► More: Gov. Bill Haslam calls Phil Bredesen 'formidable' challenger in Republican state

Perhaps surprisingly, Bredesen, a former Nashville mayor who has earned millions privately in the health care industry and helped bankroll some of his past campaigns, said he would not be contributing any personal money into his race. He said he doesn’t think it will be necessary.

“I think at this point, I’ve earned the right to go out and raise money,” he said, adding that people have already stepped up in wide numbers over the last 48 hours.

Former governor's office aide to serve as campaign manager

Bredesen said he plans to tap Bob Corney, former communications director in Bredesen’s governor’s office, as campaign manager. Corney currently works as senior vice president at Calvert Street Group, a lobbying and advocacy firm based in Nashville. He said former top aides as governor, Dave Cooley and Stuart Brunson, have also been "deeply involved" early on in the campaign.

Out of the gate in the race to replace Corker — whose decision to retire sent a shockwave through Tennessee politics — Bredesen is seeking to reclaim his brand of centrist politics from his time governor from 2003 to 2011.

But much has changed politically in Tennessee since Bredesen won all 95 counties during his landslide re-election in 2006. As the polarization between the two parties has widened, Republicans have dominated races in Tennessee at all levels. Democrats haven’t come close to winning a statewide race.

Bredesen said he thinks he can win back voters who were with him a decade ago.

Bredesen thinks he can win over some Trump voters

“Just by the arithmetic of the situation, there are hundreds of thousands of voters out there who voted for me in 2006 and voted for Trump last year,” he said. “They haven’t all changed their political views radically, they just changed who they thought was going to do some of the things they wanted. For me, the trick is to do the same things in that race, which is go back out and talk to those people.”

He said he thinks he’s in good position to appeal to these Trump voters, characterizing himself as someone who is nonpartisan, willing to reach across the aisle and a “problem-solver.”

“They know I’m not interested in political theater, and that’s one of the things that they’re objecting to going on in Washington right now,” he said.

Republicans, including GOP candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn, have set out quickly to paint Bredesen as someone from the left politically. The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee slammed him as an “Obama-loving liberal.”

A spokeswoman for Blackburn used similar language in an emailed statement this week, saying Blackburn “will ensure liberal Bredesen doesn’t block Trump’s agenda in Washington.”

Bredesen called the attacks “Washington playbook stuff” that will be used against any Democratic candidate anywhere.

Bredesen: Blackburn sees Senate role differently

Asked about Blackburn, who faces former Rep. Stephen Fincher and others in the GOP primary, Bredesen said she sees the job of a senator differently than him.

► More: US Rep Marsha Blackburn launches Senate bid

► More: Former Republican Rep. Stephen Fincher enters Tennessee U.S. Senate race

“She is in that mode of seeing her job and the Congress as being a loyal soldier, to now the president, and I’ve just got a very different view of the job,” Bredesen said, arguing Congress should work as a check and balance. “Both of us have primary opponents, so I think neither of us should get too far ahead of the curve.”

Bredesen said he spoke to Mackler this week prior to his Thursday Senate announcement. Mackler has given no sign of exiting the race. Bredesen called Mackler an “honorable, fine person” with a nice resume but said he thinks he has more to offer. He said he expects a mutually respectful primary.

If elected, Bredesen would enter office at 75, significantly older than most freshman senators.

He said he’s healthy and happy. And although some observers have suggested Bredesen could decide to serve just one term if he's victorious next year, Bredesen said he would enter office with the intent of running for re-election.

After initially shutting the door on re-entering politics, Bredesen announced he was reconsidering a possible run in mid-October. He said he did his homework on the race, determined “it’s not a suicide mission,” but instead possible to win, and made a final decision with Andrea Conte, his wife.

“I think both of us came to the conclusion, look, things are getting more and more messed up ever year. You’re in kind of a unique position in terms of the ability to maybe do something about it. You can either sit back on your haunches and complain or step up and do something about it, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.