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Andy Ogles emerged from a crowded and expensive Republican field in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District primary for a chance to flip the open seat left by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN).
Ogles, mayor of Maury County, was projected by the Associated Press early Friday morning to secure the GOP nod after a contentious nine-way primary campaign. He will face state Sen. Heidi Campbell, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
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Andy OglesKurt Winstead, a retired brigadier general in the Tennessee National Guard, was the highest spender in the race, having loaned himself about $1.1 million. Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell came in second in spending with over $600,000, while Ogles came in third with $300,000. However, Club for Growth affiliates contributed $1.7 million in outside spending supporting Ogles directly or by attacking his top rivals. Harwell told her supporters on Thursday night she didn’t have enough votes to make up the deficit against Ogles and was conceding.
The three top candidates attacked each other as not being conservative enough, saying they would increase taxes, with Harwell saying in an ad that Ogles is in league with “amnesty-loving RINOs who sell out America.” Ads supporting Ogles have claimed that Harwell supports tax increases and that Winstead is a secret Democrat.
The 5th District is a new Republican pickup opportunity after redistricting split the Nashville metropolitan area into Republican-leaning districts. Cooper decided not to run for reelection, as he didn’t believe he could win in any of the three redrawn districts. The Cook Political Reports rates the new 5th District as a “solid Republican” seat.
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Morgan Ortagus, former spokeswoman for the State Department under President Donald Trump, was endorsed by the former president but was disqualified from running, as were two other candidates, by the Tennessee Republican Party due to violations of the party’s bylaws for only recently moving to the state. Trump did not endorse another candidate, and Ortagus advised Winstead’s campaign. Robby Starbuck, another of the booted candidates, ran a write-in campaign.
Tennessee is the only state to hold its primary elections on Thursdays due to a quirk going back to its first constitution, drafted in 1796.
