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Stephen Fincher says Tennesseans don't want career politicians as he seriously considers Senate run

Stephen Fincher climbed out of a pickup truck with Crockett County tags Thursday morning and sat in a Knoxville coffee shop, another stop on his listening tour across the state as he decides if he will run for U.S. Senate in 2018.

Former U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Frog Jump, is considering running for Bob Corker's soon-to-be-open U.S. Senate seat.

For months the former Republican congressman from Frog Jump, a little community in West Tennessee, had his name tossed around as a possible candidate for governor, but wasn’t interested. Instead he signed on to help U.S. Rep. Diane Black’s campaign.

Then Sen. Bob Corker announced he would not seek re-election two weeks ago and things changed for the farmer and gospel singer.

Since then, Fincher, 44, has begun to seriously consider whether he should get back into politics and is crossing the state in an effort to hear from voters on what he should do.

More:Former Rep. Stephen Fincher to begin statewide listening tour as he weighs U.S. Senate run

More:Who will jump in race to replace U.S. Sen. Bob Corker?

“I don’t need anything to complete me. If I stay home and farm and duck hunt and sing gospel music the rest of my life, hey man, I am 100 percent OK with that,” he said. “What’s more important than Stephen Fincher is who represents our state and who governs for us in Washington."

Fincher said he continues to hear from voters who say they are tired of the "same old status quo career politician" looking to put another "notch in their belt."

“If there were people running for this seat who I thought would go to Washington and do what’s best for Tennessee and not just for climbing the political ladder, I’d be back in Frog Jump,” he continued.

Fincher's background

U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher speaks at the Madison County Republican Party gathering at the All Suites Hotel in Jackson in this November 2012 file photo. Fincher won re-election to his 8th District seat.

Fincher was elected in 2010 and came to Washington, D.C., as part of the wave of Tea Party candidates that shook the Republican Party. He bills himself as a solutions guy.

“I’m someone who wants to fix things, not just throw the political football around every night on Fox News,” he said. “Tennesseans tell us they want more than that.”

While in D.C. he sponsored four pieces of legislation that turned into laws, the most controversial one being the Export-Import Bank that provides government assistance in the form of loans, or export insurance, to companies that sell their goods around the world. The bank has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance in Tennessee alone.

But many Republicans, especially Tea Party conservatives, accused the bank of doling out "corporate welfare" to big companies, such as Boeing and General Electric. Fincher said he supported the program because of its direct impact to Tennessee jobs. He also said it is supported by President Trump.

Trump and D.C.

Fincher declined to comment on Trump and Corker’s recent spat, saying he would “leave the personal stuff alone,” but he said he does support the president and his agenda 100 percent.

“What Tennesseans are telling me is, ‘Stephen, Trump’s policies are spot-on.’ I believe that. I voted for him in the primary. We want someone who is going to stand up with the president, get these things accomplished (and) get these bills passed and signed into law so we can help Tennesseans whether it’s (with) healthcare or jobs, taxes, you name it.”

He said he would be focused on repealing and replacing Obamacare, getting the country’s tax code “flatter and fairer” and finding solutions to a broken immigration system.

When asked about early front-runner U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign for Senate, Fincher said he’s just focused on running for Tennesseans. But he said he’s used to a challenge.

“Look, I’m from Frog Jump. I don’t know anything but uphill,” he joked.

Fincher does have a bit of a head-start up that hill in the way of $2.3 million leftover in a campaign chest from his previous elections that he said he would use if he decided to run.

He said he would make his decision known soon, but didn’t give a date. His listening tour finishes in Memphis next week.