"If I Had Been Bitten . . ."

Since the day Ray Jenkins first flashed onto the nation's television screens as committee counsel in the Army-McCarthy hearings, his home state of Tennessee has buzzed with talk about his political future. Would the Knoxville lawyer turn out to be a good candidate to run for the U.S. Senate this year against Democrat Estes Kefauver? Last week Tennessee Republicans filed petitions qualifying Jenkins as a candidate in the Aug. 5 G.O.P. primary, and the Republican state executive committee unanimously shouted through a resolution asking and urging him to run.

In Washington, where his boxerlike countenance has become as much a part of the scenery as the Capitol cupola, Jenkins rumbled revealingly: "I walked out of the caucus room a little while ago, signed autographs for 30 minutes and was assured by quite a substantial group that they are interested in my continuing public service to this country as a Senator. If I had been bitten by the political bug and really desired to enter politics and quit private life, I should say the messages and communications I have received would be most encouraging." Translated freely from the Jenkinsese, this meant that Jenkins i) has been bitten, and 2) probably will run.

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