Farmer drops challenge of Lamberth for majority leader

State Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) is dropping his bid for House majority leader, according to a message to GOP colleagues obtained by the The Tennessee Journal.

Farmer cites the “fantastic” outcome of this month’s elections in his decision to give up his challenge of Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) for the No. 2 leadership position in the chamber. Republicans held on to all 73 House seats they came into the election with.

“A change in leadership is not what the caucus needs right now and therefore I am officially withdrawing my name,” Farmer said. “The best thing we can do is stand together in unity and support the leadership that is currently in place.”

Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson is challenging Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cosby for House Republican Caucus chair. The leadership vote is scheduled for next week.

Dear Members,

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the support and encouragement you have given to me over the past several weeks. I have genuinely enjoyed traveling around the state, visiting your respective districts and getting to know you all better. The Tennessee ”volunteer” spirit is alive and well in our great state!

As the election results came in, I was incredibly pleased to see that we successfully brought back all our Republican members. Congratulations to everyone! These fantastic outcomes, combined with the fact we have a significant amount of money left in the caucus, have caused me to reconsider my candidacy for majority leader. A change in leadership is not what the caucus needs right now and therefore I am officially withdrawing my name. The best thing we can do is stand together in unity and support the leadership that is currently in place.

I am looking forward to working with each of you in the 112th.