Memo to all you politicians out there that thought the Democratic primary for governor was only going to be seriously contested by Knoxville businessman Doug Horne, former Clarksville legislator Kim McMillan or even Democratic House Leader Gary Odom: This Ward Cammack guy is serious about getting your vote.

Cammack, a prominent member of Nashville's financial services industry, told NashvillePost.com earlier this year that he was entering the 2010 governor's race. Not very well known, if at all, in most Democratic circles, Cammack's announcement didn't seem to ruffle the feathers of any other potential candidates.

That should change with this bit of inside baseball news.

The powerhouse political firm of Murphy Putnam Media has joined up with Cammack's campaign, according to the Cammack team. Haven't heard of them? They did a few other political campaigns you may remember like Gov. Phil Bredesen, Mayor Karl Dean, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and a fellow named Barack Obama media.

In other words, this news shouldn't be taken lightly by any Democratic gubernatorial aspirants.

Speaking about his campaign staff, Cammack told NashvillePost.com, "We have been working hard to assemble the best team we can, looking beyond the March and June disclosure periods and winning the Democratic primary."

Another big hire by Cammack is the polling firm of Anzalone Liszt Research, a well-known Democratic polling firm based in Montgomery, Ala. One of their most recent victories was the North Carolina U.S. Senate campaign of Kay Hagan, who knocked Elizabeth Dole out of office this past year.

Locally, a former personal assistant of former U.S. Senator Bill Frist has signed on as Cammack's campaign coordinator. Lynn Grundset is heading up the day-to-day functions of the effort and is joined by campaign treasurer Jim Bickmore, former treasurer of American General Life & Accident Co., and campaign communications will be headed up by area publicist Julie Schoerke.

Also on the team are Brett Milner as "information architect" and former Dean campaign staffer Kim Graham, who will serve as office manager and a fund-raiser. Former Tennessean reporter Marissa DeCuir and Mark Bacurin, a research analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., also will have a hand in fund-raising.

If that weren't interesting enough, Cammack and his team have begun reaching out to Democratic party regulars by mail. In the letter, he attacks Republican legislators for wanting to see Obama's birth certificate and says, "At a time when hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans are worried about losing their jobs and/or their health care, it is unconscionable that these lawmakers would engage in this type of partisan activity."

Here is a full copy of the letter.

I am writing to introduce myself to you as a candidate for the 2010 Democratic nomination for Governor. This week we had an important reminder of what's at stake twenty months from now.

As you may have read this past week, four Republican state legislators, including the House GOP Caucus Chairman, signed up in a lawsuit challenging whether President Obama was constitutionally eligible to be President. The four Republican lawmakers want President Obama to prove that he is a United States citizen by producing his birth certificate.

As one Nashville political columnist wrote, "This is dumber than a box of rocks."

At a time when hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans are worried about losing their jobs and/or their health care, it is unconscionable that these lawmakers would engage in this type of partisan activity. It is an embarrassment to the Tennessee Legislature and to the Tennessee Republican Party.

I realize that it is too early in the process for many of you to make a commitment in the 2010 gubernatorial contest, but this week's GOP folly is a reminder of how important this decision will be. In the coming weeks, I will begin to campaign across Tennessee. I hope you will take the opportunity to learn more about my candidacy and my plans to create more jobs here in Tennessee.

I look forward to visiting with you in person next time I am in your city or county. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me and let me know about important Democratic events in your part of the state.

The right wing of the Tennessee GOP is salivating at having control in all three branches of government next year. We all know what that would mean. We have had enough of it nationally. We don't need it here in Tennessee. Together we can keep the wolf from the door.

Yours,

Ward