Jewish Army Veteran Aims To Unseat Tennessee Senator

James Mackler Image by twitter

By Nathan Guttman May 11, 2017

A Jewish veteran of the Iraq War has thrown his hat into the race to challenge Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.

James Mackler is the first candidate to announce he is entering the state’s Democratic primary ahead of the 2018 elections. His announcement video, released last month, highlights his military service as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne Division.

Mackler, now an attorney, is married to Rabbi Shana Goldstein Mackler of The Temple Congregation Ohabai Sholom in Nashville.

The Democratic race is only beginning to take shape, and Mackler’s chances of winning the primary are still unclear. But even if he does prevail, he will face a formidable task in challenging Corker, a popular incumbent who has easily won his previous reelection bids in this red state.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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