Former Memphis Dr. Rolando Toyos enters race for Corker's Senate seat

Dr. Rolando Toyos, founder and CEO of the Toyos Clinic with locations in the Memphis and Nashville metros, will enter the race to succeed Bob Corker in the U.S. Senate.

Toyos, who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for Shelby County Commission in 2010, announced his bid on a new website and in a YouTube video last week.

The son of Hispanic immigrants, Toyos grew his eye care business from one location in Jackson to its current five locations. He served as the official ophthalmologist to the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team for about 10 years but moved from Shelby County to Brentwood last year.

In an interview Wednesday, Toyos — a self-described conservative Republican — said he decided to run for office again after growing frustrated with the governmental dysfunction created by out-of-touch "career politicians."

More: MTSU poll: Who is more popular in Tennessee, Donald Trump or Bob Corker?

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The costly health care and immigration plans coming out of Washington show an ignorance about the problems facing real people, especially in rural communities, he said. He highlighted his own firsthand experience running a business, in health care, as an immigrant, and pointed to the opioid crisis as an example of what happens when politicians sequestered in Washington listen to lobbyists instead of their constituents.

"Right now, Washington deals with crisis situations," he said. "We need to deal with situations before they're crises."

Even though Toyos is able to self-fund his campaign, he faces a slate of competitors with better-known names in the 2018 election — among them, Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn and former U.S. Rep. Steve Fincher. The only Democrat to announce so far is James Mackler, a Nashville attorney and Iraq war veteran, although former Gov. Phil Bredesen and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke are also exploring bids.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.