Hilleary to enter Senate race, GOP sources say

Email | Print By Drew Ruble

02-17-2005 1:24 PM — Multiple sources have confirmed to NashvillePost.com that former congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Van Hilleary has told them he will join the race for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by current Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in 2006.

Hilleary joins Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, state Representative and former state GOP party chair Beth Halteman Harwell and former congressman Ed Bryant as Republican candidates.

Contacted Thursday afternoon by NashvillePost.com, Hilleary would only say that he is rapidly moving toward a decision and will likely make a public announcement regarding his intentions "very soon."

In recent weeks Hilleary has said publicly he was leaning towards making a Senate run and was making calls to gauge the level of financial support he could expect from the party faithful. News that he plans to enter the race, then, comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with Republican state politics.

A poll of 400 likely Republican primary voters conducted by the Anderson Group at the request of Hilleary earlier this month showed him with a strong lead among Republican candidates. Pundits say the commanding lead in early polls is evidence of the spoils of statewide name recognition Hilleary attained during his losing 2002 gubernatorial run against eventual governor Phil Bredesen.

In a proposed two-man race between Hilleary and Corker, the poll showed Hilleary with a 41% to 11% advantage. Hilleary took 31% in a four-man poll, with Bryant taking 18%, Corker 8% and Harwell 2%. Minus Bryant, Hilleary took 38%, Corker 9% and Harwell 4%.

Currently a resident of Murfreesboro, Hilleary is a lawyer with the Chicago-based law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He commutes to the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Hilleary could make hisofficial announcement tonight. He is scheduled to speak along with the three declared GOP senatorial candidates at the Williamson County GOP President’s Day dinner event in Cool Springs.

According to a Williamson County GOP advertisement, only declared candidates will be speaking at the event. An official with the Williamson County GOP informed NashvillePost.com that Hilleary called the organization Monday and requested that he be added to the speaker’s bill. Told by the organization that the event was intended only for declared candidates, Hilleary renewed his desire to speak and was added to the event.

Asked by reporters in Washington last week if he planned to endorse a Republican candidate to replace him in the GOP Senate primary, Frist reportedly saidhe had no plans to pick a favorite.

Democrats in the race include Memphis congressman Harold Ford Jr. and state Sen. Rosalind Kurita.