"quite a bench" is now random state legislators?
For a seat in the House of Representatives? Absolutely, it is. Where do you think most Representatives come from, and what is the biggest obstacle to electing Republicans in Massachusetts or Democrats in Florida?
Remember, I was responding to the argument that this district is a certain loss for the Democrats if Davis leaves. The existence of state legislators (which, I grant, is hypothetical right now because I'm not going to the TN web site) means that Democrats have people they can run there.
Quite a bench is a number of candidates with both personal popularity and some political skill, money doesn't hurt either. If their bench consists of a few ho-hum state legislators who are party line political hacks, at least they have some bench.
This guy might be a likely candidate:
32nd District - Dennis Ferguson (49 in 2010) - Majority Floor Leader
