On state primary election night, Aug. 6, I joined many others at the Leslie Town Centre to watch the results of Congressman John Rose’s campaign for governor.
The room was filled with familiar faces, along with quite a few people I was meeting for the first time. John’s campaign staff had spent months working toward that night. Supporters talked, shook hands, and watched the results come across the screens.
I first met John at the Leslie Town Centre many years ago. I met his lovely wife, Chelsea, that same evening. At the time, Guy and Sam were not even part of the picture. Now we have watched both boys grow up. For many of us, the Rose family feels like part of our own extended Upper Cumberland family.
I also remember the first time John appeared on my radio show. I was still a fledgling talk-show host and probably more nervous than I wanted anyone to know.
Normally, it is the host’s job to make the guest feel comfortable. Somehow, John turned that around and made me feel at ease. He never treated the interview like a performance. He talked with me instead of talking at me, and he made a fairly new host feel as if he belonged behind that microphone.
John became a special guest I could call whenever I needed him, and if his schedule allowed, he was there. His staff remained just as welcoming, inviting me to events even after I left morning radio. That loyalty meant more than they knew. In a business where calls can stop when the microphone turns off, they still saw me as Brent and a friend. The news-talk version of WHUB is gone, so John can no longer stop by for those live morning conversations. I still have opinions about what became of that local broadcasting group, but that, however, is for another column.
My friendship with John was never measured only by interviews or invitations. After I was let go from radio following my kidney transplant, John heard what had happened and reached out to make sure I was all right. There was no camera or press release. It was simply one friend checking on another during a difficult time.
I believe there are many stories like that about John Rose. He helps someone, checks on someone, or quietly steps forward when somebody needs him. Then he steps away before anyone can make a big fuss about it. He does not need the credit, and that is something I have always admired about him.
That is why there was real sadness in the room when John came forward to concede the governor’s race. It was not just disappointment over election numbers. Many people in that room genuinely believed John Rose would make a terrific governor. I still believe that.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination, and I congratulate her. Also a longtime friend and frequent guest on my radio show, she was always gracious to me, and I believe she will win the November election and make a great governor. If she does, she has said she will appoint a temporary replacement for her Senate seat until voters choose a successor in November 2028. Senator Blackburn, I hope you will keep John’s name near the top of the list, if he wants the job. An appointment would give him nearly two years to show Tennessee what many of us already know before running in 2028 to complete the term through January 2031.
I do not believe that night marked the end of John’s political journey. God willing, it was simply the closing of one chapter.
The next chapter may already be waiting for him.
Brent Carl Fleshman is a Cookeville writer.