The Tennessee Star reached out to Secretary Pompeo’s team for comment on his endorsement of Ortagus, and Secretary Pompeo’s team dodged the issue of her recent immigration to Tennessee.
1 – In endorsing Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, did Secretary Pompeo consider Ortagus’ extremely recent ties to Tennessee?
Background: Ortagus has been registered to vote in TN for less than 3 months.2 – Did Secretary Pompeo consider that she may not be eligible to compete in the GOP primary due to her recent move to TN and pending legislation at the TN General Assembly?
Pompeo’s press office for his CAV-PAC replied, “Our quote in the endorsement release stands on its own.”
In a tweet endorsing Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, Pompeo said in a graphic:
In Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, I can’t think of a stronger candidate than Morgan Ortagus. Morgan played a critical role in our administration’s efforts to put America first and to restore American greatness to our foreign policy. She has served her country honorably in the executive branch and in our military, and I know she’ll continue to champion the American values we share in Congress.
Pompeo was Ortagus’ boss at the State Department during her tenure there. Ortagus worked under Pompeo from 2019 to 2021. Pompeo served as Secretary of State under President Trump from 2018 to 2021. Prior to serving as U.S. Secretary of State, Pompeo was director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018.
The Star previously reported that Ortagus has only recently moved to Tennessee and registered to vote in the state less than three months ago. Ortagus has not yet had the opportunity to vote in a Tennessee election.
There is pending legislation before Tennessee’s General Assembly, sponsored by State Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains), that could keep Ortagus, as well as music video director Robby Starbuck, off the ballot if it is passed into law with an effective date before August’s Republican primaries. That legislation establishes a three-year residency requirement for candidates running in a primary.
On the subject of that legislation, Ortagus has told The Star, “I’ll leave state matters to the state legislature. I’m focused on earning the support of 5th-district Tennesseans who want a conservative fighter to defend President Trump’s agenda.”
The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office told The Star that the deadline to finalize ballots for the August 4, 2022 primaries is April 21, 2022. When asked if pending legislation could change that, the Secretary of State’s office replied, “If legislation changes the eligibility of a candidate on a ballot. The ballot will be amended before the election to be in accordance to the law.”
Ortagus, Starbuck, businessman Baxter Lee, former Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, and Natisha Brooks are the publicly known candidates in the Republican primary for Tennesse’s 5th Congressional District. Six other individuals are collecting petitions as part of the Tennessee qualifying process to run for U.S. House.
Former Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell may be nearing a decision to enter the race and Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles is also considering entry.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mike Pompeo” by United States Department of State. Photo “Morgan Ortagus” by Morgan Ortagus. Background Photo “Tennessee State Capitol” by Andre Porter. CC BY-SA 3.0.
[…] Star previously reported Pompeo’s team dodged the issue of Ortagus’ recent move to Tennessee when asked for comment […]
I have a State Senator originally from Seattle. I have a State Representative originally from Philadelphia. Neither of them have made much improvement around here…. so I won’t criticize Ortagus too much on her origins.
Sounds like you need to elect someone from Tennesse if your state representation has proven to be so lacking.
Think about it.
Oh, don’t you go worrying your little heads over stuff like this, Big Brother has it all figured out! Kinda, Sorta.
And his press release has the B*LLS to say, “In Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, I can’t think of a stronger candidate than Morgan Ortagus.” Where has this Pompeo guy been hiding? Answer that and stop reading now! Does this former Trump staffer not know also former Trump staffer by the name Carol Swain? Her name IMMEDIATELY jumped into my head! She’s been an articulate well thought out opponent to government overreach and corruption for years! Or how about John Rich? He sure is talking the talk and walking the walk! Or maybe even long time Citizen Advocate Andy Ogles, now doing a heck of a job down in Maury County.
The fact is that Pompeo knows nothing about Tennessee but has been being groomed for the future leadership in the new “one world order” for some time. No thanks you!
what happened to the “wait for the winner of the primary race” before backing any candidate?
Pompeo is an establishment neo-con. Look at his record prior to serving in the Trump admin. His endorsement would be worthless to me if I lived in the 5th district.
Well anyone that is supported by CIA is not a candidate for any of us. The CIA represents the central bank and associated corporations.