{mosimage}April 14, 2009

Former U.S. congressman and Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. says he has decided against a run for Tennessee governor in 2010.

The Memphis Democrat who ran a neck-and-neck statewide race against U.S. Sen. Bob Corker three years ago has removed his name from the list of potential candidates for Tennessee governor in 2010.

“There will be another race and time to ask for your support,” former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., said in a Monday statement.

As one of the few Democrats with statewide name recognition, Ford would have been the front-runner for his party's nomination had he entered, political observers said. His decision not to run raises the chances for the handful of state lawmakers and other party activists who are weighing a bid for the office.

Ford did not say why he decided not to run, but his decision comes less than a year after he married Emily Threlkeld, a business development manager for a New York fashion designer. The marriage and a part-time position as senior policy adviser to Merrill Lynch have left him splitting time between New York and Tennessee.

Mr. Ford urged his supporters to align themselves with one of the Democratic contenders for governor and offered some advice to candidates.

“Our state deserves nothing less than a governor who can build on the prudent leadership of Gov. (Phil) Bredesen,” he said. “Our Republican friends running for governor will run predictably narrow campaigns that are out of sync with the time we live in and the challenges we face.”

Like Sen. Bill Frist's announcement earlier this year that he, too, would not run, Ford's decision opens the field for other candidates, said John Geer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. Ford was one of the few Democratic candidates who was known across Tennessee, and his decision to sit out the 2010 race means the nominee probably will be someone who has never run statewide.

Mr. Forrester said he doesn’t necessarily expect Mr. Ford’s decision to send Democrats on the fence running into the race. He noted that it’s still the early stages of a race for which the primary is about 16 months away.

Another prominent Democrat, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said in January that he will not run for governor. Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, cannot run for re-election due to term limits.