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January 16, 2009

NASHVILLE -- U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga has filed the required paperwork with the state to formally begin his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.

The 51-year-old Wamp first announced his intention last week to run for governor in 2010 and has been touring the state since then.

Wamp was first elected to the 3rd Congressional District seat that runs from Chattanooga to the Virginia border in 1994. He was sworn into his eighth term in office Jan. 5.

Also in the Republican race are Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Shelby County prosecutor Bill Gibbons.

Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen can't run again because of term limits, and no Democrat has yet entered the race to succeed him.