NASHVILLE (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher is joining the race to succeed Republican Bob Corker in the Senate.

The gospel singing farmer from the rural western Tennessee community of Frog Jump announced his bid in an interview with The Tennessean .

The 44-year-old Fincher enters the 2018 Republican primary after finishing a 10-day statewide tour to discuss the race.

He'll face Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a suburban Nashville Republican who jumped into the race with a polished campaign video within an hour of Gov. Bill Haslam's announcement that he would not run.

Fincher was elected to Congress in the tea party-fueled election of 2010. His announcement that he wouldn't seek fourth term in 2016 came as a surprise to many political observers.

Corker announced Sept. 26 that we wouldn't run for Senate again.