Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean traveled to Chattanooga and Memphis last week to talk to leaders in both cities as he explores a Democratic run for higher office, including a possible bid for governor.

In an interview with The Tennessean, Dean characterized these trips — and visits to other cities on the horizon — as educational and part of the process to determine whether to run for office in 2018 when two statewide seats are up for grabs.

He declined to say specifically whom he met with in Chattanooga and Memphis, calling them a “broad range of people.”

“I think for this calendar year, it’s a time for me to see whether I have something to contribute,” Dean said of a possible run for state higher office. “It’s an opportunity for me to learn more about the state and it’s also an opportunity, frankly, to see whether something like that is doable.That's really all I'm doing.

“Going through an exercise of thinking about this is a wonderful way to get educated about different issues that face the state,” he said. “People look at things differently in different parts of the state. And there are different issues that certainly confront different parts of the state. Then you’ve got to figure out whether it’s a realistic thing to do or whether it’s the right thing or right timing for my family and myself.”

Dean, whose two terms as Nashville mayor concluded in September, is more frequently discussed as a possible Democratic candidate in 2018 in what will be an open governor’s race to replace Bill Haslam. In addition U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee — who has received recent speculation as a possible running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — will be up for re-election the same year.

Dean said he wouldn’t make a decision on his plans until sometime next year.

Regardless of the candidates, Democratic nominees in both races are expected to be underdogs. Tennessee Democrats last won a statewide race in 2006 when Gov. Phil Bredesen won his re-election bid. They’ve struggled to find viable statewide candidates in the most recent election cycles.

Dean, a Democrat who was popular with many pro-business Republicans as mayor, has quietly made pit stops across Tennessee this year for various speaking engagements that he’s used to build his statewide connections. He's visited Memphis multiple times.

While in Chattanooga last week, he spoke before the Tennessee College Public Relations Association. Last month, he also gave remarks at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s Jackson Day fundraiser in Nashville. Speaking engagement in other cities are on tap for Dean.

He raised speculation with his most recent trips by tweeting the following from his personal Twitter account last week: “Enjoyed meeting w leaders in Memphis and Chattanooga this week. Stay tuned for more updates here as we travel around TN!”

It was the first Tweet from that account in more than four years.

Dean, whose tenure as mayor included several major city projects, including the construction of Music City Center, Nashville’s convention center, exited the mayor’s office with high approval marks in Nashville. But running for statewide office in Tennessee, which is decidedly more conservative, is different political terrain.

Dean could be in position to self-finance at least a portion of a future campaign, having dropped more than $1 million of personal funds into his first mayoral campaign in 2007.

“That’s not something I’ve made any decisions about,” Dean said when asked about the use of personal funds in a possible campaign. “I can tell you that it will cost a lot to run for governor and have a serious campaign, and, obviously, I think you would need to raise a lot of money.”

Following his time in the mayor's office, Dean has spent the past eight months teaching at Belmont University and Boston University, as well as chairing a new education nonprofit called Project Renaissance.

Other Democrats bandied around as possible options for governor include Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke.

The Republican list of possible gubernatorial candidates is considerably longer and includes U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn.; U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd; state Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville; former ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty; House Speaker Beth Harwell; Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville; and businessman Bill Lee, chairman of Franklin-based Lee Company.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.