Tipper Gore Mulling Senate Run

W A SH I N G T O N, March 15, 2002 -- Tipper Gore has told associates she is considering a run for the Democratic nomination to fill an open U.S. Senate in her home state of Tennessee, ABCNEWS has learned.

Whether the wife of former Vice President Al Gore will take the plunge is an open question, debated Friday by political operatives and journalists in Tennessee and Washington.

Arriving at a women's conference in Torrance, Calif., Tipper Gore did not respond to questions about her potential candidacy. She did speak this morning to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first-lady turned senator from New York.

"I had a chance to talk with Tipper this morning, and I believe this is something she is seriously considering," Clinton said in a statement.

A few Gore associates were quick to dismiss the idea, saying it would subject her to scrutiny she doesn't want and lead to a contested primary, which the Democratic Party would like to avoid.

But Gore's former chief of staff, Audrey Tayse Haynes, told ABCNEWS: "It's terrific, because Tipper is a very, very passionate person about her state about her country and about the issues."

Haynes said that, in her view, Gore would win the state.

Other Gore confidants shared Haynes's perspective, though they declined to be identified. Several Democrats said they thought Gore was seriously considering a candidacy.

Al and Tipper Gore will spend Saturday and Sunday in Tennessee, meeting with her friends and potential supporters. She has no public events.

A top Democratic official in Tennessee said that the upper echelon of the state party was informed of Tipper's cogitation by an Associated Press reporter, who called at 3 p.m. Thursday.

And the chair of that party, William Farmer, said that as of 2 p.m. today, he hadn't talked to Tipper Gore or anyone associated with the Gore family.

Asked about the chances for her candidacy, Farmer would only say, "Tipper Gore would be a fine candidate for any office she sought."

If Tipper Decides to Run She Has Her Challengers

Eddie Bryan, the secretary and treasurer of the Tennessee AFL-CIO, an important political player in any Democratic primary, said that the Gores and their record on labor issues would be an asset to the state.

"I have seriously doubt that she'll run, but she'd be a great candidate," Bryan said.

Through a spokesperson, Rep. Bart Gordon, who has toyed with the idea of running, said in a statement: "Fortunately, Tennessee has a number of outstanding potential candidates for the United States Senate. Tipper Gore would certainly be one of them".

Several Tennessee Democrats expressed frustration that they hadn't been informed of the situation any earlier, especially with the imminent announcement of Democratic Rep. Bob Clement.

If Tipper were to run, she'd likely face at least one challenger.

Although Democrats don't have a candidate yet, ABCNEWS has learned that Clement has scheduled a news conference Monday in Nashville to declare his candidacy.

(Another possible candidate, former National Transportation Safety Board official Jim Hall, said today that he would not run).

When Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, a Republican, announced last week that he would retire when his term expired, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander jumped into the race, and was widely seen as the favorite. Democrats countered by toying with a candidacy by one of its rising stars, Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr.

Clement expressed an interest in running, and by Thursday, Ford backtracked, promising to support whomever the state party favored.

In his primary, Alexander faces a primary challenge from GOP Rep. Ed Bryant.

Dan Allen, a spokesperson for the Republic Party's Senate campaign arm, said he wasn't worried that a Gore in the race would make it more difficult for the GOP nominee to win.

"It looks like the democrats have a primary situation," he said. "We'll let them deal with that. We're pretty pleased with the quality of our candidates."

If Clement does announce, several Democratic political observers said, the notion that Gore would run in a primary is even more farfetched than the notion that she would run uncontested.

The filing deadline for both parties is April 4.

In the abstract, Gore would be a good candidate: She would have high name recognition, the attention of the national media, and the ability to raise a lot of money fast.

But Democratic operatives want her to get out quickly, because they don't believe she will run in the end, and they don't want their ultimate nominee diminished by this. And Gore has always had an uneasy relationship with public life.

Still, said her good friend Haynes, "She's frankly only been in private life for the past year. Public life is something that she's accustomed to."

Al Gore, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, was in Washington today working on a book.

Sources familiar with the Gores said that Al Gore has told friends he will support his wife's decision, no matter what she does.