View source for Ed Bryant

{{Short description|American politician (born 1948)}}
{{About|the U.S. Congressman|the science fiction writer|Edward Bryant|several others|Edwin Bryant (disambiguation)}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Ed Bryant
|image        = EdBryant.jpg
|office       = Magistrate Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee]]
|term_start   = December 12, 2008
|term_end     = February 28, 2019
|state1       = [[Tennessee]]
|district1    = {{ushr|TN|7|7th}}
|term_start1  = January 3, 1995
|term_end1    = January 3, 2003
|predecessor1 = [[Don Sundquist]]
|successor1   = [[Marsha Blackburn]]
|office2      = [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee|Western District of Tennessee]]
|president2   = [[George H. W. Bush]]
|term_start2  = 1991
|term_end2    = 1993
|predecessor2 = [[Hickman Ewing]]
|successor2   = Veronica Coleman
|birth_name   = Edward Glenn Bryant
|birth_date   = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1948|9|7}}}}
|birth_place  = [[Jackson, Tennessee]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|party        = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|education    = [[Tennessee Technological University]]<br>[[University of Mississippi|University of Mississippi, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])
|allegiance   = {{flag|United States}}
|branch       = {{army|United States}}
|serviceyears = 1970–1978
|rank         = [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/21999/ed-bryant#.Vf8Jqt9VhBc |title=Ed Bryant's Biography – The Voter's Self Defense System |publisher=Vote Smart |access-date=September 20, 2015}}</ref>
|unit         = [[United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps|Army Judge Advocate General's Corps]]
}}
'''Edward Glenn Bryant''' (born September 7, 1948) is an American politician who is a former [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Tennessee]] (1995–2003). From 1991–1993, he served as the [[United States Attorney]] for the [[U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee|Western District of Tennessee]]. On December 12, 2008, Bryant was sworn in as a [[United States magistrate judge]] for the Western District of Tennessee.<ref name="life-after">{{cite web |author1=Emily Cahn |title=Life After Congress: Ed Bryant |url=https://rollcall.com/2012/12/13/life-after-congress-ed-bryant/ |website=Roll Call |access-date=1 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123164927/https://rollcall.com/2012/12/13/life-after-congress-ed-bryant/ |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |language=en-us |date=December 13, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> He retired from this position on February 28, 2019.

== Early life ==
Ed Bryant was born and raised in [[Jackson, Tennessee]]. His mother was a [[registered nurse]], while his father was an [[electrician]]. Bryant attended [[Tennessee Technological University]] for a year before transferring to the [[University of Mississippi]], where he received both his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in 1970 and [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] in 1972. As a student, he was active in the [[Sigma Nu]] fraternity. Bryant was also selected to the national leadership organization of [[Omicron Delta Kappa]].

He received a commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the [[United States Army]] through the [[Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps]]. Initially serving in the [[Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)|Military Intelligence Corps]], Bryant was later selected to serve in the [[Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army|Judge Advocate General's Corps]]. During his time in the U.S. Army, he was assigned to the Ballistic Missile Defense System Command in [[Huntsville, Alabama]], the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]] at [[Fort Carson]] in [[Colorado]] and taught [[constitutional law]] to cadets at the [[United States Military Academy at West Point]].<ref name="life-after"/> Bryant served another year in the [[Tennessee Army National Guard]].

Upon returning to Jackson, Tennessee, he joined the [[law firm]] of Waldrop & Hall<ref name="life-after"/> and was later elected President of the Madison County Bar Association.

== Entrance into politics ==
Bryant first became politically active in a high-profile way in 1988 when he served as an early organizer for the abortive [[President of the United States|presidential]] bid of [[conservatism|conservative]] [[televangelist]] [[Pat Robertson]]. Earlier that year, Eighth District Congressman [[Ed Jones (Tennessee politician)|Ed Jones]] decided not to run for reelection. Bryant won the Republican nomination for the district, a largely [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] area mostly in the northwestern part of the state. He lost in the [[general election]] to [[Union City, Tennessee|Union City]] [[Lawyer|attorney]] and state representative [[John S. Tanner]]. Bryant resumed the practice of law, having been appointed as United States Attorney for the [[U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee|Western District of Tennessee]] by President [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1991.<ref>Library of Congress, Presidential Nominations [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/z?nomis:102PN0020600: "Presidential Nominations," retrieved on 2011-1-13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019003201/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/z?nomis:102PN0020600: |date=October 19, 2015 }}</ref>  He later moved to [[Henderson, Tennessee|Henderson]], near Jackson, located in the neighboring Seventh Congressional District.

== U.S. House of Representatives ==
When Seventh District Congressman [[Don Sundquist]] did not run for re-election in 1994 (choosing instead to wage an ultimately successful campaign for [[governor of Tennessee|governor]]), Bryant won the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]] for the district. The 7th is one of the state's most Republican districts outside of [[East Tennessee]]. Under the circumstances, Bryant's victory in November was a foregone conclusion.

In his three subsequent re-elections, Bryant never failed to receive under 60% of the vote. His only serious opposition came in his first reelection bid, when [[Clarksville, Tennessee|Clarksville]] [[mayor]] Don Trotter faced him. Bryant defeated him by over 30 points. As of the 2016 elections, Trotter is the last reasonably well-financed Democrat to run in the 7th, and one of only three Democrats to make a serious bid for the seat since it fell into Republican hands in 1972 (when it was numbered as the 6th District; it has been the 7th since 1983). Bryant was unopposed in 1998, and was reelected by over 40 points in 2000.

Bryant established a solidly [[Conservatism|conservative]] record and was a darling of both business-oriented groups such as the [[National Federation of Independent Business]] and social conservative groups such as the [[American Conservative Union]], the [[National Rifle Association of America]], and National [[Right-to-Life]]. He was best known as one of the [[House managers]] (prosecutors) in [[Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton|the impeachment trial]] of President [[Bill Clinton]]. Bryant was regarded by many as one of the less strident and pompous and more personable managers. This is supposedly why [[Monica Lewinsky]] chose Bryant to be the manager to interview her about the case.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

== 2002 U.S. Senate election ==
In 2002 Bryant entered the Republican primary for the [[United States Senate]] after Republican [[Fred Thompson]] announced that he was changing his mind from an earlier announcement and would not be seeking re-election. The circumstances resulted in his piecing together a hurried, underfinanced campaign. Bryant was opposed by former [[governor of Tennessee]], [[U.S. Secretary of Education]], and two-time [[President of the United States|presidential]] candidate [[Lamar Alexander]] for the Republican nomination. Alexander had both greater statewide name recognition and greater financial resources, even though he hadn't appeared on a ballot for a statewide office in Tennessee in 20 years. Despite this, Bryant held Alexander to 55% of the primary vote while garnering 44%. Additionally, Bryant made a good impression on many Republican activists in the state, especially with his willingness to make appearances on the Republican ticket's behalf during the fall campaign after his own defeat.

== 2006 U.S. Senate election ==
{{Main|2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee}}

After Bryant's defeat in 2002, he moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] briefly, but returned to [[West Tennessee]]. There he sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat then-held by [[United States Senate Majority Leader|Senate Majority Leader]] Bill Frist, who did not seek re-election in 2006.

Bryant faced two other major Republicans in the primary on August 3, 2006:
* [[Bob Corker]] – Former mayor of [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]] and 1994 Senate candidate.
* [[Van Hilleary]] – Former United States Representative and 2002 gubernatorial nominee.

In an interview with [[John Gibson (media host)|John Gibson]] of [[Fox News]], Bryant stated that he did not believe [[Harold Ford Jr.]] should be considered a serious candidate for the U.S. Senate because of Ford's young age of 36 at the time.<ref>{{cite news| title=Rep. Ed Bryant Tells His Side of Battle for Tenn. Senate Seat| date=June 29, 2006| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201578,00.html| work=Fox News| access-date=April 25, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708162128/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201578,00.html| archive-date=July 8, 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bryant conceded the GOP primary election to [[Bob Corker]] on August 3, 2006.<ref name=link1>{{cite web |year=2006 |url=http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060803/NEWS0206/60803064 |title=Corker wins GOP Primary |work=The Tennessean|access-date=August 3, 2006}} {{dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{CongLinks | congbio=B000996}}
* {{C-SPAN|36798}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060718224136/http://www.edbryantforsenate.com/ Ed Bryant for Senate website] (archive)

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{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hickman Ewing]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee|Western District of Tennessee]]}}|years=1991–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=Veronica Coleman}}
|-
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Don Sundquist]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Tennessee|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Tennessee's 7th congressional district]]|years=1995–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Marsha Blackburn]]}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bill Boner]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former U.S. Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Van Hilleary]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-end}}

{{Impeachment and impeachment trial of Bill Clinton}}
{{USCongRep-start |congresses=104th–107th [[United States Congress]]es |state=[[United States congressional delegations from Tennessee|Tennessee]]}}
{{USCongRep/TN/104}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Ed}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:21st-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:American military lawyers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of Congress who became lobbyists]]
[[Category:People from Henderson, Tennessee]]
[[Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Tennessee lawyers]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States attorneys for the Western District of Tennessee]]
[[Category:United States magistrate judges]]
[[Category:University of Mississippi alumni]]