By Ray Hill Prentice Cooper had served as governor of Tennessee for six years, the only man ever to be elected to three consecutive two-year terms in modern history. Cooper’s tenure covered the entire period when the United States was fighting a bloody war all across the globe. Diminutive, less than five and a half […]
By Ray Hill The race for the United States Senate in Tennessee in 1970 was one of the most closely watched races in the country that year. The race between Congressman Bill Brock, the Republican nominee, and incumbent Senator Albert Gore had national implications. Gore had managed to defeat Tennessee’s longest-serving U. S. senator, the […]
By Ray Hill Congressman Bill Brock’s decision not to run for governor of Tennessee opened the field to a plethora of candidates and for the first time in Volunteer State history serious candidates populated both the Republican and Democratic primaries. Brock opted to run for the United States Senate to challenge three term incumbent Albert […]
Buford Ellington had barely taken the oath of office when speculation became rife as to who the next governor of Tennessee might be; Ellington had faced no Republican on the ballot in 1966, but Howard Baker had become the first member of the GOP to be popularly elected to the United States Senate. Incumbent U. […]
By Ray Hill Franklin Haney was urged to run for Congress from the Third District when Tennessee Young Democrats adopted a resolution during a convention in Knoxville encouraging him to make the race. The twenty-six year-old Haney was receptive and announced his candidacy for Congress in May. Although young, Haney had worked for U. S., […]
By Ray Hill Congressmen Bill Brock and Jimmy Quillen, along with their newly elected colleague John Duncan, gave a dinner for Republican legislators after the 1964 election. Howard Baker attended the dinner and was surprised when the legislators unanimously announced they wanted him to serve as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party. Bill Brock spoke […]
By Ray Hill Bill Brock formally announced his bid for a second term in Congress on June 1, 1964. Within weeks of Brock’s reelection announcement, “Bookie” Turner announced he was withdrawing from the Congressional race. Turner said he had only taken the plunge as a candidate “for the sake of party unity”, he promised to […]
By Ray Hill Bill Brock had yet to finish his first full year in Congress when he came to Knoxville to speak to a Young Republican leadership-training program. Brock had worked tirelessly to help build the Tennessee Republican Party and make Tennessee a genuine two-party state. Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, seeking the Republican presidential nomination, […]
By Ray Hill Senator Gore admitted if the Republicans fielded a strong candidate his reelection campaign would be “a tough race.” Gore also opined Bill Brock would likely be the strongest candidate the Republicans could run against him, but the senator said he did not believe the congressman would run, as Brock was from […]
By Ray Hill Thirty-two year old William E. Brock, III had managed the impossible, winning Tennessee’s Third Congressional district in 1962. It was the first time the Third District had elected a Republican congressman since 1920. Brock was one of three Republicans in the Tennessee Congressional delegation, joining Howard Baker, Sr. and Jimmy […]
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