NASHVILLE (AP) - Former state Rep. Joe Carr, who in August won 41 percent of the vote in his primary challenge of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, says he is mulling a bid for chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/1xDCJDo) first reported that Carr was considering running against current Chairman Chris Devaney for the job because of what he called a "growing and unsettling division within the Republican Party."

Devaney told the paper that he considers it a "disqualifier" for Carr to have refused to endorse Alexander in the general election.

Meanwhile, former congressional candidate Lenda Sherell said Monday she is considering a bid for Democratic Party chairwoman. Other candidates include former state Senate candidate May Mancini of Nashville and former state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville.