The farmer from Frog Jump who pledged to “plow congress” is ready to come home after six years in office. Republican Stephen Fincher has announced in a statement he won’t run for re-election, saying he “never intended to become a career politician” and he was “humbled by the opportunity.”
Fincher was elected in a
wave of conservative non-traditional candidates in 2010. Democrats had long represented the West Tennessee district, which used to reach into parts of Middle Tennessee.
“He was part of our historic Republican takeover of the congressional delegation in 2010 and he has served with distinction since taking office,” TNGOP chairman Ryan Haynes said in a statement. “I wish him well as he takes the next step in his professional career.”
The cotton and soybean farmer always wanted to be viewed as an outsider. At first, he slept in a pullout sofa in his office. He tried to come home every weekend. At the time, he also said he’d serve a maximum of 12 years.
“I don’t serve Washington. I don’t serve leadership. I don’t serve Democrats, Republicans up there. I serve here,” Fincher told WPLN
during an interview at his farmhouse in Frog Jump. “And when I forget that I’m serving here, then it’s time for me to come home.”
Fincher also pledged to push a bill instituting term limits, though that effort never got off the ground.
His last battle may go down as 2015’s
renewal of the Export Import Bank, which helps finance international trade deals. Fincher went against conservatives, saying the Ex-Im bank
“levels the playing field globally.”
Fincher will have to figure out what to do with all the money he’s raised. After starting out with a seat on the Agriculture Committee, Fincher moved to Financial Services, which is historically a more lucrative post. At the end of the year, Fincher still had $2.7 million in his re-election fund, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
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