Two new candidates in 3rd District race, Bennett bows out

There was no shortage of news in Tennessee's 3rd Congressional district on Monday as two Chattanooga area residents announced they would form campaigns to challenge Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and one potential candidate said he would not run.

At the weekly meeting of the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club, club vice president Ron Bhalla announced he would be joining the field. Bhalla, a 64-year-old Indian immigrant and owner of Hixson's Somo Enterprises Inc., said he was not running because he was disappointed in Fleischmann but instead to reform a political system that was out of order.

"I'm not against anybody, I am against the system," Bhalla said. "Whoever they are sending to congress gets involved with external forces like lobbyists and Washington Politics and fundraising, but I won't be getting involved in that because I won't be sold out. I won't be a puppet of people who want to use me for their own personal interest."

Bhalla also said he would propose a "different perspective" if elected, by pushing every bill which comes his way to 3rd District constituents for a vote, and casting his vote with the majority. But when asked if he would support a measure which included elements not typical of Republican representatives such as a tax increase, Bhalla said he would stick to his principles.

"I will be working on my Republican principles," he said. "After that, I will be taking the votes of my constituents."

Bhalla's entry to the field adds his name with Weston Wamp and Dr. Jean Howard-Hill as Republican hopefuls. There had been no talk of any challengers from the Democratic party until Monday afternoon, when Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Paul Smith confirmed that Bill Taylor of Physician Practice Resources Inc. would announce his candidacy on Thursday.

The announcement will be made at the Hamilton County Democratic Party headquarters on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Taylor, who Smith said was "in the formative stages" of mounting his campaign, was unreachable for comment.

Hinting at another possible Democrat candidate, Smith also said that "there could be other people that announce soon too."

The decision-making process came to an end Monday for Chattanooga attorney J.B. Bennett, who had announced he was "seriously considering" entering the Republican field last month. After sending out a news release, Bennett, the son of Hamilton County Property Assessor Bill Bennett, said he would not rule out running in the future. 

"I have a lot of obligations to me, and I'm very pleased to have clients who need my help, so that's what I'm focused on," Bennett said. "I was very encouraged, but decided that this was not the right thing for me at this time."

Fleischmann, who won his seat in 2010, declined to comment through a spokesman.

Other names being thrown around as possible candidates in the 3rd District include Maj. Savas Kyriakidis and Tres Wittum. 

Tennessee's 3rd District primary elections will be held on Aug. 2, 2012.