Ed Bryant

Ed Bryant
Ed Bryant
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
	In office; December 12, 2008 – February 28, 2019
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Tennessee's 7th district
	In office; January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Don Sundquist
Succeeded by	Marsha Blackburn
United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee
	In office; 1991–1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Hickman Ewing
Succeeded by	Veronica Coleman
Personal details
Born	Edward Glenn Bryant; September 7, 1948 (age 75); Captain
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps

Edward Glenn Bryant (born September 7, 1948) is an American politician who is a former

Western District of Tennessee. On December 12, 2008, Bryant was sworn in as a United States magistrate judge

for the Western District of Tennessee. He retired from this position on February 28, 2019.

Early life

Ed Bryant was born and raised in

Tennessee Technological University for a year before transferring to the University of Mississippi, where he received both his B.A. in 1970 and J.D. in 1972. As a student, he was active in the Sigma Nu fraternity. Bryant was also selected to the national leadership organization of Omicron Delta Kappa

.

He received a commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the

United States Military Academy at West Point. Bryant served another year in the Tennessee Army National Guard

.

Upon returning to Jackson, Tennessee, he joined the law firm of Waldrop & Hall and was later elected President of the Madison County Bar Association.

Entrance into politics

Bryant first became politically active in a high-profile way in 1988 when he served as an early organizer for the abortive

Western District of Tennessee by President George H. W. Bush in 1991.^[2] He later moved to Henderson

, near Jackson, located in the neighboring Seventh Congressional District.

U.S. House of Representatives

When Seventh District Congressman Don Sundquist did not run for re-election in 1994 (choosing instead to wage an ultimately successful campaign for governor), Bryant won the Republican primary for the district. The 7th is as heavily Republican as the neighboring 8th is heavily Democratic—in fact, it is arguably the state's most Republican district outside of East Tennessee. Under the circumstances, Bryant's victory in November was a foregone conclusion.

In his three subsequent re-elections, Bryant never failed to receive under 60% of the vote. His only serious opposition came in his first reelection bid, when Clarksville mayor Don Trotter faced him. Bryant defeated him by over 30 points. As of the 2016 elections, Trotter is the last reasonably well-financed Democrat to run in the 7th, and one of only three Democrats to make a serious bid for the seat since it fell into Republican hands in 1972 (when it was numbered as the 6th District; it has been the 7th since 1983). Bryant was unopposed in 1998, and was reelected by over 40 points in 2000.

Bryant established a solidly

House managers (prosecutors) in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Bryant was regarded by many as one of the less strident and pompous and more personable managers. This is supposedly why Monica Lewinsky chose Bryant to be the manager to interview her about the case.^{[citation needed}

]

2002 U.S. Senate election

In 2002 Bryant entered the Republican primary for the

U.S. Secretary of Education, and two-time presidential candidate Lamar Alexander

for the Republican nomination. Alexander had both greater statewide name recognition and greater financial resources, even though he hadn't appeared on a ballot for a statewide office in Tennessee in 20 years. Despite this, Bryant held Alexander to 55% of the primary vote while garnering 44%. Additionally, Bryant made a good impression on many Republican activists in the state, especially with his willingness to make appearances on the Republican ticket's behalf during the fall campaign after his own defeat.

2006 U.S. Senate election

After Bryant's defeat in 2002, he moved to

Senate Majority Leader

Bill Frist, who did not seek re-election in 2006.

Bryant faced two other major Republicans in the primary on August 3, 2006:

Bob Corker – Former mayor of Chattanooga and 1994 Senate candidate.
Van Hilleary – Former United States Representative and 2002 gubernatorial nominee.

In an interview with

John Gibson of Fox News, Bryant stated that he did not believe Harold Ford Jr. should be considered a serious candidate for the U.S. Senate because of Ford's young age of 36 at the time.^[3]

Bryant conceded the GOP primary election to Bob Corker on August 3, 2006.^[4]

References

^ "Ed Bryant's Biography – The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
^ Library of Congress, Presidential Nominations "Presidential Nominations," retrieved on 2011-1-13 Archived October 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Rep. Ed Bryant Tells His Side of Battle for Tenn. Senate Seat". Fox News. June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on July 8, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
^ "Corker wins GOP Primary". The Tennessean. 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2006. ^{[dead link]}

External links

Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Appearances on C-SPAN
Ed Bryant for Senate website (archive)

Legal offices
Preceded by Hickman Ewing	United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee 1991–1993	Succeeded by Veronica Coleman
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Don Sundquist	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th congressional district 1995–2003	Succeeded by Marsha Blackburn
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Bill Boner as Former US Representative	Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative	Succeeded by Van Hilleary as Former US Representative

[1] "Ed Bryant's Biography – The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

[2] Library of Congress, Presidential Nominations "Presidential Nominations," retrieved on 2011-1-13 Archived October 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

[3] "Rep. Ed Bryant Tells His Side of Battle for Tenn. Senate Seat". Fox News. June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on July 8, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2007.

[link1-4] "Corker wins GOP Primary". The Tennessean. 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2006. ^{[dead link]}

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