Congressman Zach Wamp said he has raised almost $1 million toward a planned U.S. Senate race in 2006.
"We're full-speed ahead toward the Senate seat," he said Friday.
Rep. Wamp said he is making more statewide appearances, including an upcoming speech in Claiborne County.
He is expected to limit spending in the current Third District House contest, which is projected to be his last. That election is in November.
He said, "I've learned to never say never, but at this point the focus is on the Senate seat that I presume will be open in 2006."
Sen. Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, has said that this will be his last term in the Senate, and he is seen as a future presidential candidate.
Rep. Wamp, 46, is in his fifth term in Congress.
A number of others are potential candidates for the Senate seat, including former Congressman Ed Bryant of West Tennessee and Congressman Harold Ford, a Democrat.