27 Facts About Bob Clement

Robert Nelson Clement was born on September 23,1943 and is an American politician and academic administrator.

Bob Clement is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Tennessee, from 1988 until 2003, when he retired to run for the United States Senate.

Bob Clement went on to attend the University of Tennessee graduating in 1967.

Bob Clement served in the National Guard from 1969 to 1971 and served in the reserves until 2001, retiring as a colonel.

Bob Clement considered buying a telephone company while he was studying at the University of Tennessee, but his father would not lend him the money.

Bob Clement gained knowledge about the Tennessee Public Service Commission which regulated phone companies and other utilities.

In 1972, Bob Clement ran against Hammond Fowler in the Democratic primary for the incumbent's seat and won.

Bob Clement won by a 3 to 1 margin which was the most lopsided defeat of a statewide incumbent in Tennessee history.

Bob Clement went on to win against Republican nominee Tom Garland in the general election in what was otherwise largely a good year for Republican candidates in Tennessee.

In 1978, Bob Clement ran for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Bob Clement ran second in the primary narrowly behind Knoxville banker Jake Butcher, who had finished second in the Democratic gubernatorial primary four years previously.

Bob Clement tried to stop the overbuilding of nuclear reactors in the TVA service area, later telling The Tennessean that the agency was trying to pay for the projects by raising rates when there was plenty of power available.

In 1982, Bob Clement announced his candidacy for the 7th Congressional District, his family's home district.

Bob Clement won the Democratic nomination, but lost the general election to Don Sundquist, a businessman from Memphis who would later become a two-term governor.

Bob Clement said years later that he'd made a mistake by trying to run the same kind of campaign that his father had in his glory days.

Temporarily out of politics, Bob Clement remained active in Democratic circles.

Bob Clement had a large network of contacts through his ongoing service in the National Guard.

In 1983, Bob Clement became president of Cumberland University, a struggling private junior college in Lebanon, 30 miles east of Nashville.

Bob Clement took office that night, as soon as the results were certified.

Bob Clement was reelected six times with no substantial opposition.

On October 10,2002, Bob Clement was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.

In 2002, when Republican Senator Fred Thompson stated that he had changed his mind regarding his previous announcement that he would run for a second full term, Bob Clement entered the Democratic primary for Thompson's seat.

Bob Clement was succeeded in the House by former Congressman Jim Cooper, who is a son of a former Tennessee governor.

Bob Clement's supporters launched a campaign website well before his official announcement.

Bob Clement finished second in a crowded field including five major candidates, where the top three candidates finished only a few hundred votes apart.

Bob Clement stated after the results were tallied that he had no plans to run for public office in the future.

Bob Clement is married to the former Mary Carson of Nashville.