A Tough Roe To Hoe

After all that ink was spilled on Steve Cohen's (D-TN 09) 8/7 non-race, it turns out the real TN action was in TN-01, where David Davis (R) was defeated by Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe (R). Many now say Roe's "big oil" attacks on Davis provided the mortal wounds, but is that the case?

-- Possibly, but there's a bigger explanation for Davis' loss: himself. If you had to search through your Almanac Fri. morning to see just who Davis was, you probably wouldn't be alone. Davis hasn't made much of a mark since coming to DC after winning his seat with just 22% in '06. And he didn't appear to take his re-election seriously, as he barely raised more cash than Roe. The fact that he stayed in DC for the GOP "protest" last week, instead of campaigning at home, adds to these suspicions.

-- In short, Davis did the opposite of everything Cohen did in his re-election bid. They both came to office after winning very unimpressive primaries, and had much to prove. Cohen took that challenge and raised tons of cash, and also earned many endorsements of many who had supported others in '06.

-- Sure, "big oil" provided Roe an opening to attack Davis. But in the end, Davis should be assigned the majority of blame for what happened to him 8/7.