Wamp to challenge Fleischmann again

Republican Weston Wamp is taking another shot at ousting Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) from the seat his father once held. 

The son of former Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) announced Monday he is running again after finishing third in the 2012 primary against Fleischmann. 

“As Americans, we have no control over our government if we don’t have a choice at the ballot box and I believe voters deserve a choice,” Wamp said in a statement. “America is too great for this Congress to continue to divide our nation and avoid their responsibilities. I want to give the Third District an independent conservative voice and a reason to believe our government can still work and serve the people.”

{mosads}The 26-year-old Wamp slammed the second-term Fleischmann as part of the problem in Washington. 

“This Congress is the least productive and least popular in our nation’s history and for three years now, Chuck Fleischmann has simply gone along with the flow. He has done nothing to change Washington, nor has he been effective as a legislator on behalf of our District. Fleischmann and the 113th Congress have given up on our country and failed to govern,” said Wamp.

“The people of the Third District deserve much better and I will work tirelessly to prove to voters that I will be more accountable, more transparent and more innovative than the status quo.”

Wamp ran for the state’s 3rd District against Fleischmann last cycle after his father gave up the seat in 2010 for an unsuccessful run for governor. In the three-way primary, Wamp finished third with 29 percent, behind local dairy magnate Scottie Mayfield, while Fleischmann won the GOP nod with 39 percent of the vote. 

Fleischmann’s campaign said the August primary challenge from Wamp, a small-businessman in Chattanooga, was no shock. 

“Of course Weston Wamp is running. He never stopped running after the 2012 election – except for the few months he thought about running in another Tennessee congressional district. He comes from a family consumed with politics and is simply continuing that tradition; his announcement comes as no surprise,” Fleischmann campaign spokesman Jordan Powell said.

“Whether it has been the 264 events, meetings, and town halls he held and attended, the 242,872 responses, calls, and letters he sent to constituents throughout East Tennessee, his consistent fight against Obamacare, or his 100% pro-life voting record, Chuck has kept his word and served his constituents. He will continue to do the job he was elected to do and is confident the voters will see that.”