Far-right mayor wins GOP primary for U.S. House seat in Nashville
Andy Ogles, a far-right county mayor, won Tennessee’s Republican primary in a reconfigured congressional district in Nashville that the GOP is hoping to flip.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Andy Ogles, a far-right county mayor, won Tennessee’s crowded Republican primary on Thursday in a reconfigured congressional district in left-leaning Nashville that the party is hoping to flip in November. In a warning ahead of the general election, he said, “Liberals, we’re coming for you.”
Ogles, the Maury County mayor and onetime leader of the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity’s state chapter, emerged among nine candidates after a hard-fought primary for the state’s 5th Congressional District. The seat drew heavy interest from Republicans after GOP state lawmakers carved Nashville into three districts, leading incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper to announce his retirement.
“We’re at war. This is a political war, a cultural war, and it’s a spiritual war,” Ogles said in his victory speech. “And as we go forward, we’ve got to get back to honoring God and country.”
Ogles will face Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell in November. The new district favored Donald Trump over Joe Biden by 12 percentage points in 2020.
Redistricting ‘surprises’ some Democrats as district lines set stage for 2022 midtermsJan. 5, 202204:24Voters in Tennessee’s primary elections also cast ballots for a Democratic gubernatorial nominee to take on Republican Gov. Bill Lee in November. The Democratic primary remained too early to call Friday morning between Nashville physician Jason Martin and Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr.
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