Bob Corker Retirement Puts Spotlight On Jewish Candidate (Or Two) In Deep Red Tennessee

James Mackler Image by twitter
Bob Corker’s surprise announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2018 could put in play what was once a safe GOP seat.
For Democrats, hoping to ride an anti-Trump wave and to flip as many seats as possible, this means taking another look at James Mackler, the only Democrat currently in the Tennessee race. Mackler is a Jewish attorney from Nashville who served as Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne Division and is married to a rabbi.
“I am running for the United States Senate to work as hard as I can to restore respect, honesty, and, most importantly, integrity in Washington,” Mackler told the Tennessean Tuesday.
But Corker’s decision not to run could also spell some bad news for Mackler. With an open seat and Democrats sensing a chance for a flip, the party may chose to seek a more seasoned candidate to lead the race, rather than Mackler who is only now making his first steps in the political world.
Another Jewish name thrown into the ring is that of David Kustoff, a Republican freshman congressman who is rumored to be eying the vacant Senate seat. Kustoff has yet to announce his intentions.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.