Jeff Yarbro is probably tired of the question of why he would launch a Democratic primary challenge to the highly respected, well established Sen. Douglas Henry of Nashville in the Tennessee General Assembly.
But he has been consistent with his answer.
“I don’t consider this a race against Senator Henry. I consider this to be a race for the state Senate,” Yarbro says.
Youth against experience can make for a great election match-up. This one is about as interesting as they come.
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Yarbro is making a bold move, challenging a veteran in his own party. But when you hear Yarbro address a group, like a room full of students at Belmont University last Friday, explaining the nuts and bolts of the new federal health care law, you have further proof that Yarbro is worthy of anybody’s attention.
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Jeff Yarbro, the young Nashville attorney challenging longtime state Sen. Douglas Henry in the Democratic primary this year, said today that he’s raised more than $204,300 so far.
Yarbro said he raised $90,310 during the most recent fund-raising period, which ran from Jan. 16 to April 1, and had $186,352 on hand. He said he has brought in more than 800 separate contributions, and he believes he’s raised more money from donors than any other candidate in a state legislative race.
“We started this campaign with phenomenal fundraising numbers, and I’m so thrilled that our momentum has continued to grow,” he said in a news release. “Every day I talk to people who are desperate to see new energy and ideas in the Tennessee legislature. These contributions will allow us to continue spreading our message to voters in the 21st District.”
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Ask challenger Jeff Yarbro if he plans to go on the attack in his bid to dethrone state Sen. Douglas Henry in August’s Democratic primary, and he shrugs it off.
“I don’t see this as a race against Sen. Henry, but one for the state Senate,” Yarbro says. Pressed whether the electorate is even dissatisfied or unhappy with Henry, Yarbro doesn’t go there either.
“I think people in the district, like me, have great respect for Sen. Henry, and appreciate the service he’s provided,” Yarbro says. “I think all elections are about the future. When voters go to the polls in August, they’re going to be thinking about who’s going to be the best senator from 2011 to 2015.”
The 33-year-old Yarbro received plenty of headlines in September when he announced his candidacy to take on the 83-year-old Henry, a fixture in Tennessee state politics for decades. Henry served the state House for a brief stint beginning in 1955, before taking over his current District 21 Senate seat –– representing a massive swatch of west and south Davidson County — in 1971. Age gap, combined with Henry’s near-iconic status in Nashville’s political world, generated natural intrigue.
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For nearly 40 years, since Richard Nixon was president and Flip Wilson boasted the top-rated television show, Douglas Henry has been unbeatable in the state Senate. A political dinosaur from the era of the one-party South, the conservative Democrat has won all his elections handily to the constant frustration of Nashville’s liberals.
However, last week, a baby-faced activist named Jeff Yarbro announced he would take on Henry in the Democratic primary in 2010, and a group of the party’s powerbrokers surprised the senator by lining up behind this challenger.
It was all the more improbable since, at the age of 83, Henry is preparing to make what’s likely his final run for the office.
Sen. Henry represents a broad swath of southern Davidson County, including Belle Meade, Green Hills, Berry Hill and parts of Antioch. Despite his differences with liberals — he’s a fiscal tightwad and staunchly pro-life — Henry is venerated as a statesman at the Capitol, one of the Legislature’s last old bulls, and many observers doubted anyone in his party would try to deny him this one last hurrah.
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear Friend,
I wanted you to be among the first to know that I have decided to become a candidate to represent Tennessee’s 21st district in the State Senate. The Tennessee legislature is in dire need of new leadership, and I ask for your support.
Too often, our elected representatives have spent more time playing partisan politics than supporting our schools, creating jobs, fighting crime, and improving our health. The Tennessee General Assembly is failing to address either the short-term economic crisis or the long-term challenges facing our state.
As a state senator, I will strive to end the sideshow politics of recent years and start finding the real solutions to the problems confronting citizens across the state. It’s time for the legislature to get back to the people’s business. We need fewer slogans, and more solutions.
Senator Douglas Henry, Jr. has served the 21st district with dignity and distinction since 1970. I honor his commitment to the state. That same desire to serve Tennessee compels me to commence this campaign at such a critical time. As the senator for the 21st district, I would work to continue Senator Henry’s legacy of safeguarding the financial stability of our state and fighting for Tennessee’s children.
Today, I ask you to join me in bringing new leadership to Tennessee. Over the course of the coming months, I will be going door-to-door across the district from Antioch to Bells Bend, from Berry Hill to Forest Hills, from Belmont to Bellevue to Belle Meade to hear from you about the challenges facing facing you and your family.
Campaigning for public office, as all of you know, requires significant financial resources to help us effectively communicate with voters, I ask you to make a donation to our campaign. Whether you’re able to give $5, $50, or $500, your contribution is critical to our effort to change the direction of the state legislature. (The contribution limits are $1,000 for an individual, $2,000 for a couple).
Just as importantly, I hope that you will volunteer your time:
- Join me in visiting voters door-to-door.
- Host a house party in your neighborhood.
- Contribute your ideas to the campaign.
In the weeks leading up to this decision, I’ve been humbled by the enthusiastic support that I’ve received from so many of our political, civic, and business leaders-Nashvillians, across party lines, who understand that there is a need for dynamic, pragmatic, and forward-looking leadership in our legislature. I am confident that by working together, we can take the Tennessee legislature in a new direction.
My wife Tyler and I want to build a better Tennessee for our young son Jack and for all the families in our state. We appreciate your time, your thoughts, your prayers, and your help; and we hope that you will join us on this journey. We believe that by working together, we can build a progressive movement for change in Tennessee.
Thank you,
Jeff Yarbro
