Andy Ogles, mayor of Maury County, has won the Republican primary to run for Tennessee's 5th District. It has not been easy for him. It obtained two-fifths of the votes (36.9) 11 points ahead of her closest rival, Beth Harwell, and has won five of the district's six counties. Ogles had to beat the other seven candidates.
The fifth district included the solidly social democratic city of Nashville, the state capital. But after 2020 its boundaries were redefined, leaving out a large part of the city and including the suburbs and a rural area. This makes Tennessee's 5th District now a launching pad for Republican congressional candidates. Andy Ogles has his spacesuit on, and he's sitting at the controls, listening to the countdown.
He has to overcome the Democratic nomination that Heidi Campbell has won almost unopposed. Campbell, according to the Tennessean, has deep pockets for his campaign. A very noticeable advantage over his rival Ogles. But the Republican is playing at home, after the change in district boundaries.
Conservatism vs. establishment
Ogles interprets his party's primaries as follows: "It was the establishment against the conservative branch of the party. The conservatives won. That means he feels he represents them. In fact, he calls himself "the most conservative mayor in Tennessee".
Conservative does not mean supported by the Donald Trump machine. In fact, the Tennessee Republican Party ruled out all three Trump-endorsed candidates- Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee and Robby Starbuck, according to The Tennessean.
Campaigns against you
Other candidates have considered him worthy of being the object of their negative campaigns. Beth Harwell made a ad in which he called him an "amnesty-loving RINO who sells out America." RINO is the acronym for "Republican in name only". On the other hand, PAC Conservative Americans have conducted another advertisement in which he is accused of not paying all the taxes owed by their companies. The Associated Press has awarded him the title of "extreme right".
The candidate for the House of Representatives lives in a farm with his wife and three children. He is an entrepreneur and real estate investor. In the political arena he has been an advisor to Newt Gingrich, and COO of Abolition International. As executive director of Americans for Prosperity (an organization founded by the Koch brothers), he helped Tennessee pass the largest tax cut in its history. And he has directed the Laffer Center.
Ogles studied Economics and Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and has contributed to Investor's Business Daily and The Wall Street Journal.
