MURFREESBORO (AP) - A state representative who recently decried fellow Republican Gov. Bill Haslam a "traitor to the party" says he will run for speaker of the state House next month.
The Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro reports (http://on.dnj.com/1tOatyF ) that Rep. Rick Womick plans to challenge Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville when the House Republican Caucus elects its leadership on Dec. 10.
Womick said current leadership in the House is too aligned with Haslam on issues like Common Core education standards and that he would seek a more independent course from the executive branch.
Haslam was re-elected with 70 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election. Womick has been upset at the governor because a political action committee controlled by his supporters targeted some of Haslam's critics in the August primary.