Jane Hampton Bowen drops out of race for Tennessee Democratic Party chairman

Jane Hampton Bowen, a member of the Hamilton County Democratic Party who waged a bid for chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, has dropped out of the race.

Bowen, who is vice president and political liaison for the Chattanooga Area Labor Council, announced her candidacy in December. She announced she would no longer pursue her party's top post in the state Friday.

"The race is now between two strong Democrats," Bowen said in a news release. "My job now becomes one of support and input toward the reinvigoration of the Democratic Party in Tennessee."

Bowen's exit now leaves former state Sen. Roy Herron and current TNDP Treasurer Dave Garrison as the two remaining candidates. Shortly before Bowen's announcement Friday, Herron revealed at least 42 members of the party's executive committee who had promised to vote for him—an apparent majority. 

The next TNDP chairman will replace current Chairman Chip Forrester, who announced in October he would not seek a third two-year term. During Forrester's tenure, Democrats lost their holds on the governor's office, three congressional seats and a number of seats in both chambers of the General Assembly.