Fallout from Corker retirement is Tennessee’s top 2017 story

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Republican Bob Corker’s war of words with President Donald Trump and his surprise decision to retire from the Senate after two terms is the top Tennessee news story of 2017, according to an annual Associated Press survey of reporters, editors and broadcasters.

Corker’s retirement set off a scramble among potential candidates to succeed him.

When the dust settled, Rep. Marsha Blackburn and former Rep. Stephen Fincher became the major candidates seeking the Republican nomination, while former Gov. Phil Bredesen came out of political retirement to announce he would run as a Democrat.

Other top stories included the state’s first gas tax hike since 1989; the church shooting in Nashville; the turmoil surrounding the University of Tennessee’s football program and prosecutors dropping arson charges following last year’s Great Smoky Mountains wildfires.

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