Author: Aaron Gulbransen

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Dominates in Wilson County GOP TN-5 Straw Poll Results

Aaron Gulbransen

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles dominated in a straw poll held by the Wilson County GOP, the first test of grassroots strength in the contest for the Republican nomination in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

The straw poll was conducted at the conclusion of the candidate forum hosted by the Wilson County GOP. The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy served as the master of ceremonies. The people of Wilson County packed the room and showed tremendous excitement for the upcoming elections.

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Metro Nashville Council Again Defers Action on Sanctuary City License Plate Reader Bill That Legislative Staff Said Was Illegal

Aaron Gulbransen

Metro Nashville Council deferred action to the second meeting in July on a proposed ordinance that council legislative staff said was illegal. In its current form, the bill would ban License Plate Reader use for cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This is the second time that action on the bill was deferred.

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Exclusive: TN-5 Republican Candidate Beth Harwell Raises Nearly $350,000 in Five Weeks

Aaron Gulbransen

In an exclusive statement provided to The Tennessee Star, Beth Harwell, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and candidate in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district seat, announced that she has raised nearly $350,000 in the five weeks since entering the race.

“I am proud to have the support of so many Tennesseans as we campaign to bring some common sense to Washington.” she said. “We need someone in Congress who knows the needs of Tennessee and will fight to bring back American greatness. I intend to do just that.”

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Republicans Are Lining Up in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District to Challenge Vulnerable Democrat Incumbent

Aaron Gulbransen

As Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Tom O’Halleran continues to look vulnerable, Republicans are lining up to challenge him in the GOP primary for Arizona’s Second Congressional district.

The Arizona Sun Times previously reported that O’Halleran is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrat incumbents in the country and at least five candidates have declared against him.

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Morgan Ortagus Supporters File Federal Lawsuit Challenging General Assembly-Approved Three-Year Residency Requirement

Aaron Gulbransen

Three Morgan Ortagus supporters filed a federal lawsuit late Thursday challenging the General Assembly-passed legislation that institutes a three-year residency requirement for federal candidates in primaries.

The state of Tennessee and Secretary of State Trey Hargett, in his official capacity, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

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IL-11 Republican Challenger Jerry Evans Responds to National Republican Congressional Committee Adding District to Target List

Aaron Gulbransen

Illinois Eleventh Congressional district challenger Jerry Evans responded to the news that the National Republican Congressional Committee has added the district to the Democrat incumbent target list.

In a statement issued to The Star News Network, Evans said “The NRCC adding Illinois’ 11th Congressional District to their list confirms what we have seen all along. Illinoisans have had enough of Joe Biden’s dismal economy, catastrophic foreign policy, and undeniable incompetence.” he said. “They no longer wish to be represented by Biden yes-men like Bill Foster. They want a Representative who will go to Washington and fight for them, not kowtow to Nancy Pelosi and the far-left fringes of the Democratic Party. With a strong fundraising record, significant national press, and an elite team, my campaign is well positioned to finally retire Bill Foster.” 

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Sponsor of Tennessee Residency Bill: ‘Wall Street Journal’ Is ‘Typical Liberal Yankee Rag’

Aaron Gulbransen

Tennessee State Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains), the Senate sponsor of the new legislation that establishes a residency requirement for candidates to qualify to run for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, said The Wall Street Journal is a “typical liberal Yankee rag” for its criticisms of the new measure that passed the state’s General Assembly with broad bipartisan support.

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Exclusive: Another National Republican Women’s PAC Endorses Beth Harwell in Race for TN-5

Aaron Gulbransen

In an exclusive statement provided to The Tennessee Star, VIEWPAC, a Republican women’s political action committee that was founded in 1997, endorsed former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

VIEWPAC “was created with the goal of electing qualified, serious Republican women to Congress and protecting and increasing the number of Republican women who hold federal office,” the announcement notes.

Harwell said, “I am honored to receive the endorsement of VIEWPAC and to join the ranks of so many other strong Republican women who are standing up and taking America’s future into their own hands. We have to get America back on track and that starts with some Tennessee common sense in Congress.”

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Missouri State House of Representatives Rejects Senate Redistricting Plan, Asks for Conference Committee

Aaron Gulbransen

The Republican-controlled Missouri State House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to reject the Senate-passed redistricting plan and requested that the two chambers resolve their differences via a conference committee.

By voting to reject the Senate-passed plan, the Missouri state House also ignored the 5pm, March 29 candidate filing deadline.

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NJ-7 Democrat Malinowski Under Investigation for Murky Financial Dealings, Also Benefited from Well-Timed Stock Trades

Aaron Gulbransen

Incumbent U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07) appears to have financially benefited from exceptional timing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hill reported in 2021 that Malinowski previously faced two ethics complaints about his failure to report “trading roughly $1 million in stock in medical companies that were involved in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Malinowski’s stock trades, when viewed in the context of the COVID-19 timeline in the United States, lead reporters at The Hill and The AP to more closely follow his financial activities. However, The Star News Network, using publicly available and verified information, found that Malinowski benefitted from an extraordinary navigation of technology, luxury, and medical market sectors.

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Tennessee House Passes Bill Requiring High School Students to Learn Virtues of Capitalism and the U.S. Constitutional Republic

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee State House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday 68-21 that requires high school Students to be taught the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government.

HB2742, sponsored by State Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro), “requires that high school students be taught about the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government in the United States and Tennessee, as compared to other political and economic systems such as communism and socialism, as part of the social studies curriculum.”

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Democrat State Senator Heidi Campbell Enters Race for TN-5

Aaron Gulbransen

Democrat State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) filed papers with the Federal Election Commission establishing her as a candidate for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Democrat political consultant Chip Forrester is her campaign treasurer.

Campbell, the former mayor of Oak Hill in Davidson County, was first elected to the Tennessee State Senate in 2020, defeating then-incumbent Republican State Senator Steve Dickerson.

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Report: New Dark Money Group with Possible Connections to Morgan Ortagus Targeting Tennessee Residency Legislation

Aaron Gulbransen

Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News and MSNBC is reporting that a well-funded new super PAC named Tennessee Conservative PAC says they intend to file a lawsuit challenging the General Assembly-passed three-year residency requirement legislation for candidates in federal primaries.

The legislation has yet to be transmitted to Governor Lee for his signature.

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Governor Bill Lee’s Financial Proposal for a New Titans Stadium Includes Very Few Details

Aaron Gulbransen

Governor Bill Lee’s office made a presentation to the Tennessee House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on his $500 billion bond proposal for a new Titans stadium that included several generalizations with very few details.

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Butch Eley, who functions as Lee’s chief financial officer, made the presentation on Tuesday.

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NV-1 Democrat Incumbent Dina Titus Says She’s Stunned by New Lines Turning Congressional District to a ‘Tossup’

Aaron Gulbransen

Nevada’s 1st Congressional District Democrat incumbent Dina Titus says she is feeling vulnerable for her re-election and that she hates her new district lines.

Titus clearly feels that the race for her seat is highly competitive.

Titus has strong words for the Democrat-controlled redistricting process, saying “I totally got f****d by the Legislature on my district,” she said in December when the new boundaries were announced. “I’m sorry to say it like that, but I don’t know any other way to say it.”

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Records Indicate Carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus Now Resides in the 5th Congressional District

Aaron Gulbransen

Records show that Tennessee newcomer and D.C. insider Morgan Ortagus has finally moved into the boundaries of Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district, a district she seeks to represent in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Tennessee Star previously reported on February 9 that Ortagus did not live in the district. Her voter registration record showed that the address she registered to vote from was not located within the Tennessee Fifth Congressional district lines.

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Missouri’s Republican State House Likely to Take Action on the State Senate’s Compromised Congressional Map Plan

Aaron Gulbransen

Missouri’s Republican Majority state House is likely to agree to the timid Senate-passed compromise on the state’s congressional redistricting plan on Monday.

The Missouri state House stands adjourned until Monday, March 28. The filing deadline for candidates seeking to run in primaries for one of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats is the following day, March 29.

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General Assembly Three-Year Residency Requirement Legislation for Federal Candidates in Primaries on March 28 House Message Calendar

Aaron Gulbransen
Tennessee Senate Chamber

Tennessee legislation establishing three-year residency requirements for candidates in federal primaries is on the House message calendar for floor consideration on Monday, March 28.

According to Tennessee state House staff, the House message calendar is for bills that went over to the Senate, were non-concurred, and came back.

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Former Williamson County GOP Chair Omar Hamada Endorses Andy Ogles for TN-5

Aaron Gulbransen

Former Williamson County Republican Chair Omar Hamada has endorsed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in the GOP primary for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district seat.

Hamada had previously considered running for TN-5 himself, but had declared that he would not run if Ogles jumped in. Hamada told The Tennessee Star prior to Ogles’ official announcement that he was against running if Ogles ran because in his view, he did not want to split the conservative vote. “Basically, I think we are the old two true solid conservatives and I don’t want to split the vote and have a moderate win.”

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CT-5 Democrat Incumbent Jahana Hayes Intimates Black GOP Opponent Only Running Because of Race

Aaron Gulbransen

Democrat Incumbent U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes recently intimated to supporters in a Zoom call that her Black GOP opponent was only in the campaign because of his race.

Hayes also recently told supporters that if she loses her race in November, then Democrats all around the country are in trouble. Sources tell The Connecticut Star that Hayes is feeling the pressure in Connecticut’s highly competitive Fifth Congressional district contest.

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Tennessee Stands Executive Director Gary Humble Announces Run Against Tennessee Senate Republican Leader Jack Johnson in Primary

Aaron Gulbransen
Gary Humble and Jack Johnson

Tennessee Stands executive director Gary Humble officially announced his run against Tennessee Senate Republican Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in a primary for SD27.

Humble told The Tennessee Star that he is challenging Johnson because that he is running because of what he says is a lack of true constituent representation and deferral to special interests. “Leadership – I just don’t feel that, in general in our legislature that we have strong leadership representing the people.” he said. What I see in our legislature is there too many bills that are championed by special interests and lobbyists. What I find is rare are legislators that stand up for the people and champion things that are simply in their interest.”

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Black Lives Matter Rioter and Nashville Courthouse Arsonist Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Aaron Gulbransen

Wesley Somers, a Black Lives Matter rioter who pled guilty in connection to the Nashville Courthouse riot that occurred in May 2020, was sentenced to five years in prison today.

Somers’ original sentencing date, December 1, 2021, had been moved to January 18, 2022, then to February 22, then to March 8, and finally occurred on March 23.

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Robby Starbuck Gave No Contributions to Donald Trump or Republicans Prior to Congressional Run

Aaron Gulbransen

Records show that California native and candidate for TN-5 Robby Starbuck has given no financial contributions to President Trump or Republican candidates prior to his run for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district.

The Tennessee Star was able to verify that Starbuck gave $40 to WINRED on 10/15/20, $250 to the Williamson County GOP on 7/21/21, $500 to the Williamson County GOP on 2/3/2022, $100 to the Tennessee GOP on 2/28/2022, and an additional donation to the Davidson County GOP last month.

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