 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ed Bryant" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ed Bryant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Magistrate Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee | |
| In office December 12, 2008 – February 28, 2019 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's7th district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Don Sundquist |
| Succeeded by | Marsha Blackburn |
| United States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee | |
| In office 1991–1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Hickman Ewing |
| Succeeded by | Veronica Coleman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Glenn Bryant (1948-09-07)September 7, 1948 (age 77) Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Tennessee Technological University University of Mississippi, Oxford (BA,JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970–1978 |
| Rank | Captain[1] |
| Unit | Army Judge Advocate General's Corps |
Edward Glenn Bryant (born September 7, 1948) is an American politician who is a formerRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromTennessee (1995–2003). From 1991 to 1993, he served as theUnited States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee. Bryant later served as aUnited States magistrate judge for the Western District of Tennessee from 2008 to 2019.[2]
Ed Bryant was born and raised inJackson, Tennessee. His mother was aregistered nurse, while his father was anelectrician. Bryant attendedTennessee Technological University for a year before transferring to theUniversity of Mississippi, where he received both hisB.A. in 1970 andJ.D. in 1972. As a student, he was active in theSigma Nu fraternity. Bryant was also selected to the national leadership organization ofOmicron Delta Kappa.
He received a commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in theUnited States Army through theArmy Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Initially serving in theMilitary Intelligence Corps, Bryant was later selected to serve in theJudge Advocate General's Corps. During his time in the U.S. Army, he was assigned to the Ballistic Missile Defense System Command inHuntsville, Alabama, the4th Infantry Division atFort Carson inColorado and taughtconstitutional law to cadets at theUnited States Military Academy at West Point.[2] Bryant served another year in theTennessee Army National Guard.
Upon returning to Jackson, Tennessee, he joined thelaw firm of Waldrop & Hall[2] and was later elected President of the Madison County Bar Association.
Bryant first became politically active in a high-profile way in 1988 when he served as an early organizer for the abortivepresidential bid ofconservativetelevangelistPat Robertson. Earlier that year, Eighth District CongressmanEd Jones decided not to run for reelection. Bryant won the Republican nomination for the district, a largelyDemocratic area mostly in the northwestern part of the state. He lost in thegeneral election toUnion Cityattorney and state representativeJohn S. Tanner. Bryant resumed the practice of law, having been appointed as United States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush in 1991.[3] He later moved toHenderson, near Jackson, located in the neighboring Seventh Congressional District.
When Seventh District CongressmanDon Sundquist did not run for re-election in 1994 (choosing instead to wage an ultimately successful campaign forgovernor), Bryant won the Republicanprimary for the district. The 7th is one of the state's most Republican districts outside ofEast 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, whenClarksvillemayor 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 solidlyconservative record and was a darling of both business-oriented groups such as theNational Federation of Independent Business and social conservative groups such as theAmerican Conservative Union, theNational Rifle Association of America, and NationalRight-to-Life.
He was best known as one of theHouse managers (prosecutors) inthe impeachment trial of PresidentBill Clinton. Bryant was regarded by many as one of the less strident and pompous and more personable managers. This is supposedly whyMonica Lewinsky chose Bryant to be the manager to interview her about the case.[citation needed]
In 2002 Bryant entered the Republican primary for theUnited States Senate after RepublicanFred 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 formergovernor of Tennessee,U.S. Secretary of Education, and two-timepresidential candidateLamar 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.[citation needed]
After Bryant's defeat in 2002, he moved toNashville briefly, but returned toWest Tennessee. There he sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat then-held bySenate 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:
In an interview withJohn Gibson ofFox News, Bryant stated that he did not believeHarold Ford Jr. should be considered a serious candidate for the U.S. Senate because of Ford's young age of 36 at the time.[4]
Bryant conceded the GOP primary election toBob Corker on August 3, 2006.[5]
On December 12, 2008, Bryant was sworn in as aUnited States magistrate judge for the Western District of Tennessee.[2] He retired from this position on February 28, 2019.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee 1991–1993 | Succeeded by Veronica Coleman |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's 7th congressional district 1995–2003 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
