Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker’s announcement that he will resign has inflamed new speculation that Peyton Manning will run for Senate.
It’s been 18 months since Manning led the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl 51 championship, and Tennessee Republicans were at least intrigued by the idea that he could also quarterback a campaign.
Tennessee Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais dropped Manning as a possible replacement for Sen. Lamar Alexander if he decides against seeking re-election, the Washington Examiner reported. But Business Insider’s Joe Perticone also tweeted Tuesday that DesJarlais told him that Manning is a “possible” candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018.
The Examiner cited a Republican Tennnessee insider to report that Manning is one of three names that came to mind as potential GOP candidates, along with Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Gov. Bill Haslam.
Manning, a two-time Super Bowl champion, was born in New Orleans, but played college football for the University of Tennessee. He led the Volunteers to the 1997 SEC Championship in his senior season.
Manning’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But Manning has previously dismissed speculation that he has political aspirations.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he told reporters in June. “Last week I was going to run a team, this week I going to apparently run for Senate, and next week I’ll be an astronaut … I have no interest in the political world, but would like to continue serving communities.”
Corker, 65, announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election next year.
Manning sent Twitter into a frenzy a few months ago when he was spotted playing golf with President Trump and — you guessed it — Corker.