Swain Seeks Chairmanship of Tennessee GOP

NASHVILLE– Dr. Carol Swain, prominent Vanderbilt University law and political science professor renowned for her conservative political commentary on state and national media, has announced her candidacy for the chairmanship of the Tennessee Republican Party. In seeking to fill the post, Dr. Swain would replace current state GOP Party chairman Chris Devaney, who earlier in March announced he would resign effective April 11 to accept a leadership position with a Chattanooga faith-based nonprofit.

It is expected that the TNGOP State Executive Committee (SEC) will review candidates and select an interim state party chairperson in time for that person to take office on April 12 and serve out the remainder of Devaney’s term, which ends in 2016.

Dr. Swain, 61, an outspoken Christian conservative who became a Republican nearly 7 years ago after becoming disillusioned with the Democratic Party, believes she can continue and build on Devaney’s successful tenure, which included a record-setting number of Republicans statewide elected to public office, at all levels.

“Chris played a key role in guiding the Tennessee GOP to new heights through such vehicles as the Red to the Roots program, and I would be excited and honored to use my communications skills, fund-rising savvy, and political and community connections to add to what he has accomplished,” Dr. Swain said. “With the 2016 election cycle now here, the new chairperson will have to hit the ground running, and I am prepared to do that.

“My focus as interim chairman through 2016 would be to expand the influence of the Tennessee Republican Party across the nation. This would include reaching out to conservative Democrats discontent with the excessively liberal direction their party has taken under President Obama. Toward that end, I can also help the state GOP bolster its reach into the more urban areas of Tennessee.”

Dr. Swain, the author of six books and a former Princeton University professor, is the creator and host of “Be The People,” offering weekly political commentary on Bott Radio. She has also been a frequent guest on Fox News and CNN, as well as on BBC, PBS and C-Span. In 2007 and 2008, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Swain to the National Endowment for the Humanities Board and to the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

To learn more about Dr. Swain’s background, visit her website at carolmswain.net or bethepeopletv.com. Contact her at 615-310-8617 or carolmswain(at)gmail.com. Vanderbilt University Profile: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/carol-swain
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