Kerry Roberts for Congress

Kerry Roberts is running for Congress in Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District, and I think you should vote for him.

Simple enough endorsement, right?

But in an already-crowded field of Republican hopefuls to replace Bart Gordon in Washington, only one candidate has emerged as the conservative pulse of Tennessee’s 6th District.

Until this afternoon, I had only learned about Roberts through his website, his Facebook page, and his various surrogates with whom I have been in constant contact since the days prior to his official announcement. This afternoon I got to meet Roberts at an event in Murfreesboro.

Roberts talked about his family, his professional background, and his vision for TN-06. Roberts sees himself as the “outsider” candidate, the non-politician. Roberts said he supports term limits generally and an audit of the Federal Reserve, and he highlighted his financial background as a CPA. Roberts also criticized Senators Jim Tracy and Diane Black for voting for a budget that utilized federal bailout funds to plug a $1 billion gap and applauded Senator Mae Beavers for exercising fiscal restraint as the only Senator to vote against the budget.

After his presentation, Roberts took a number of questions from those assembled. He said he plans to hold similar events all over the district in an effort to meet face to face with 10,000 voters.

As the event winded down, I had the privilege of talking with Kerry and his wife Dianne for a few minutes. I was impressed with his personable nature. I noticed during his presentation, he made an effort to personally connect with everyone in attendance. This was apparent in one-on-one conversations with me and others. Kerry wasn’t waiting to have the next conversation or to meet the next supporter, he was talking to you and only you.

And though he could brush up on his joke-telling ability (a flaw he and his wife both admit),  I have a feeling that Roberts is going to be the responsible, conservative choice for Congress during a time when most voters will be looking to problem-solvers, not politicians.