Free Republic

The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Republican Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker leads 42% to 40% when matched against Democratic Representative Harold Ford. Corker is doing better against Ford than he did in our December survey, when he trailed 36% to 42%. Representative Ed Bryant is also in a toss-up with the Democrat, leading Ford 42% to 40%. Ford led Bryant by three percentage points in our previous poll. Representative Van Hilleary, also vying for the Republican nomination, leads Ford 43% to 37%, just squeaking past the poll's margin of sampling error of 4.5%. Hilleary too has gained slightly against...

Some See Kin as Baggage, But Attacking May BackfireOf all the obstacles facing Rep. Harold Ford Jr. in his race for Senate, the most vexing might be his large, complicated and controversial family. The latest incident involves Ford's father, former representative Harold Ford Sr., who last week alleged that voting irregularities in a state Senate race featuring his sister were engineered by Republicans in an effort to discredit his son. On Monday, Ford Jr. said he did not share those views, nor has he discussed them with his father. "That's my father's opinion," he said. "We talk every day but...

Boy, am I relieved. I thought I was going to have to wait for a neutral party to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the state Senate race in which Democrat Ophelia Ford beat Republican Terry Roland by 13 votes. But Big Brother has come to the rescue. In just two days, former congressman Harold Ford Sr. has completed an investigation into the five suspect votes cast Sept. 15 at a North Memphis polling site. The Miami-based Columbo claims the culprit is a white Republican female poll worker who rigged the vote as part of a GOP scheme to ruin...

As a Shelby County voter fraud investigation lurches forward, former congressman Harold Ford Sr. isn't waiting for answers. Ford said Thursday he's opened his own investigation into allegations that two dead voters cast ballots in the September state Senate race that his sister, Ophelia Ford, won by 13 votes. Ford said he's not prepared to make any accusations, yet suggested evidence of any skulduggery will lead to Republicans, not his own Democratic Party. "It's gotten to (where people are saying), 'Hey, we're out here voting dead people.' It is clear that is not the case. We know that for a...

NEW YORK Results of a state senate election in western Tennessee have been thrown into doubt, and an investigation into voter fraud launched, after the Memphis Commercial Appeal uncovered proof that votes had been cast for dead people. The Sept. 15 special election to fill a vacant seat in the 29th state Senate District, which includes part of Memphis, had already drawn intense interest when the margin of victory was just 13 votes out of 8,750 cast. Democrat Ophelia Ford had edged Republican Terry Roland in the race to fill the seat previously held by Ford's brother, John, who was...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — As many as five ballots may have been forged by a poll worker or someone with specialized election knowledge in a state Senate special election, a Shelby County election official said. Shelby County Election Commission Chairman Greg Duckett said similar handwriting appeared on two ballot applications with dead voters’ names as well as three other applications. The votes were cast in the Sept. 15 state Senate race to replace former Sen. John Ford. Only nine ballots put Ford’s sister, Democrat Ophelia Ford, ahead of Republican contender, Terry Roland. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called in...

Opposition to Gay Marriage Causes Delay of Event Rep. Harold Ford Jr.'s opposition to gay marriage may win him votes in Tennessee, but it's costing him money in San Francisco where a fund-raiser was postponed after Bay Area politicians got wind of Ford's stance. The fund-raiser, scheduled for Saturday at the trendy Bubble Lounge, was put on ice after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and others backed away from the event. Newsom, who made headlines for conducting gay marriages, urged Ford to cancel the event after he learned Ford voted for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, according to the...

Before taking the podium the Marriott in Knoxville on Friday, U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. made his presence known by making his way to every table at the Freedom Fund dinner. After smiling for pictures with dozens of people at the event hosted by the Knoxville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Ford put on a serious face to talk about the war in Iraq. Advertisement Ford, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, spent his Memorial Day weekend in Iraq. After that visit, Ford knows the NAACP theme, "The Struggle for Freedom...

Rep. Harold Ford Jr. Files for Frist's Senate Seat NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, May 26, 2005 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. filed the federal paperwork Wednesday to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist. The five-term congressman from Memphis is the second Democrat to enter the 2006 race. Frist has said he does not plan to seek a third term. "I'm excited. I'm ready to go," Ford said in telephone interview from Washington. He said his top issues will be energy reform, national security and education. Ford, 35, is a member of...