Phil Bredesen wants the voters to know he’s one of them, a working-class guy just working to earn a living — but that’s far from the truth.
The former governor who hopes to flip Bob Corker’s seat from Republican to Democrat shares one thing besides friendship with the former Chattanooga mayor: they’re both extremely rich.
Bredesen has reported assets between $88.9 million and $358 million, The Washington Free Beacon said.
CBS News reported that Corker is one of the wealthiest senators, with an average net worth of $50.7 million.
In replacing Corker, Bredesen would also become one of the richest members of Congress. Public records show he is the owner of five homes—two homes in Nashville, two lakefront properties in upstate New York, and a five-bedroom home in Jackson, Wyoming.
Like finding a place to hang his hat at night, traveling is no issue for Bredesen: He is one of the registered owners of an Embraer Phenom 300 private jet, according to Federal Aviation Association records. The Embraer Phenom 300 sells for $10 million, according to CNBC.
And yet Bredesen says the Democratic Party is “too elitist and too distant from the concerns of the very down to Earth people that have always been the base of the party.”
Gillum Ferguson, Press Secretary of the Tennessee Republican Party, said in a press release, “We agree, especially since Phil Bredesen embodies this elitism.”
Meanwhile, in a recent video interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Bredesen said he comes from a “more sophisticated world” than most Tennesseans because he “went to an Ivy League college.” He also called Corker a long-time good friend.
“Phil Bredesen’s continued hypocrisy exposes him for what he is: a phony,” said Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden. “Tennesseans need a senator who shares their values and will represent them — not out-of-state elites. Marsha Blackburn is the best choice for Tennesseans this November.”
