Haynes won't seek GOP chair again

Haynes

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes doesn't plan to seek re-election during the Dec. 3 meeting of party officials.

Haynes held the seat for about 18 months.

“I feel like we set out what we accomplished to do,” Haynes told WBIR 10News Friday morning. “We have a lot more Republicans elected in this state than ever before and that’s good enough for me.”

Haynes noted that “we faced a lot of distractions along the way but kept the focus.”

“I’m really proud to have done the job and happy to see how it all shook out on election night,” he said.

Haynes told WBIR that he plans to stay in Knox County where he has a home and at this point plans to “enter the private sector and looking forward to that and seeing what the future holds.”

When asked about rumors that he might run for Knox County Mayor in 2018, Haynes declined to give a definitive answer.

“I think there are a lot of people out there who would be extremely qualified to run and I’m looking forward to seeing those names come out,” he said. “There are a lot of people very well suited for that job.”