Larry Crim, a Nashville businessman and CEO of Christian Counseling Centers of America, has thrown his name into the 2018 Republican primary to challenge Sen. Bob Corker, the Nashville Post reports. Crim has run multiple times as a Democrat for U.S Senate and House seats, including an attempt earlier this year to represent Memphis while still living in Nashville. He even previously said he would run in the Democratic primary to challenge Corker. For his part, Corker has filed to keep his seat though many believe he may be asked to join the Trump cabinet.

Bill Freeman, Tennessee Democrats’ top fundraiser and a possible candidate for governor in 2018, is calling for the state Democratic Party to bring in a new party chair to replace Mary Mancini following last week’s loss at the polls. “After a loss like this, I think we’ve got to look at every option, including a new chair,” Freeman told the Tennessean. Mancini has served as state party chair for the past two years after replacing former chairman Roy Herron. Her term expires in January and she has confirmed plans to seek another term.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, has been named a member of the presidential transition team, which will assist President-elect Donald Trump and his staff with transition tasks. Blackburn has been a strong supporter of Trump for months, often appearing on national television as his surrogate. Another Tennessean, former Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, also has been named to the Trump team. He will be director of presidential appointments. Finally, speculation has been rampant that U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Chattanoogan, could be named secretary of state. The Tennessean and Nashville Business Journal have more on these moves.

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Ryan Haynes plans to leave his post later this year, capping an 18-month tenure that saw criticism of his leadership despite continued GOP gains at the statehouse, the Tennessee reports. “It was an awesome challenge and I am honored we have taken the party to a place where we have more Republicans elected in Tennessee than ever before,” Haynes told the paper. He says he plans to move to the private sector and spend more time in Knox County. Haynes was elected chair in April of 2015 after leaving his seat in the statehouse.

Chattanooga City Councilman and mayoral candidate Larry Grohn accused incumbent Mayor Andy Berke of using WhatsApp, a mobile messaging client, to deliberately evade records rules, the Times Free Press reports. Berke admitted to using the app to conduct city business, and Grohn accused him of doing so in order to evade the Freedom of Information Act. Berke has called the accusations a “blatantly partisan attack” and said that public officials and staff communicate through a variety of platforms. 

Donald Trump has released a new list of possible Supreme Court picks that appears to address criticism that his prior list lacked diversity. The new list includes U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar of the Eastern District of Kentucky, an Indian-American; U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno of the Southern District of Florida, who was born in Venezuela; and Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr., who is black. The one woman on the list is Judge Margaret Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. See the full list in the ABA Journal.

Tennessee politicians received more than $1.6 million in campaign contributions over the past decade from pharmaceutical companies and other members of the Pain Care Forum, a coalition that meets monthly to discuss opioid-related issues, according to an investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity. The groups examined the industry’s influence at statehouses around the nation. About $560,000 went to Tennessee state candidates and state political parties, and more than $1 million went to those running for federal office, the study found. The Tennessean has a breakdown of giving.

The Shelby County Democratic Party was forcibly disbanded Friday after years of bitter in-fighting that recently centered on former chairman Bryan Carson, the Commercial Appeal reports. Tennessee Democratic Party chairwoman Mary Mancini said she notified the county organization in a letter that she had chosen to “de-certify” it, effectively disbanding it. Among the reasons, Mancini said the group “was not supporting, engaging and encouraging all those good and active Democrats” in the area. However, she offered her assistance to Shelby County Democrats interested in rebuilding the organization.

Tennessee Democratic Chair Mary Mancini says former Shelby County Democratic Party Chair Bryan Carson is still a bona fide Democrat despite a vote to the contrary by the local party executive committee. According to the Commercial Appeal, Mancini said the Shelby County group’s resolution declaring Carson unfit to run for office as a Democrat circumvented state bylaws governing the revoking of party credentials. 

The Shelby County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee voted Thursday night to declare former chair Bryan Carson “not fit” to run for public office as a Democrat, the Commercial Appeal reports. The panel took the action based on accusations that Carson embezzled “at least $25,000” during his tenure as chair. Carson denies the allegations and says he will appeal the vote to the Tennessee Democratic Party.