Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick released a new ad for his Pennsylvania election that declares Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Tim Walz, and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) are “dangerously soft on criminals” and highlighted their response to the 2020 riots that followed the death of George Floyd.
“Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Bob Casey are dangerously soft on criminals,” wrote McCormick in a post to the social media platform X.
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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao, himself a decorated veteran of the U.S. Navy, on Wednesday said the allegations of stolen valor levied at Democratic vice presidential nominee Governor Tim Walz are “disqualifying” and reveal “hypocrisy” on behalf of the media.
Cao first noted the questions he faced over his military experience, apparently referencing a USA Today article that claimed the Republican incorrectly described his time in combat.
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Chief District Judge William Campbell, who oversees the Middle District of Tennessee for the U.S. District Court, did not respond to a Thursday inquiry from The Tennessee Star that sought information about the apparent leak of information related to the FBI search warrant executed on Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Ogles confirmed on Tuesday the FBI executed a search warrant at his Maury County, Tennessee home to obtain his personal cell phone last Friday, less than 24 hours after he won the Tennessee Republican primary in a victory over his Never Trump-backed opponent.
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U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson ruled on July 29 that alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure, the transgender person who wrote publicly about Governor Bill Lee and left an unsettling voicemail before visiting the campus of the Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) elementary school in Nashville, will be allowed greater freedom at the East Tennessee psychiatric treatment center where she remains.
A student of CPA from 1999 until 2003, McClure was arrested in May on charges of cyberstalking after she wrote posts claiming Lee would not take action to undermine pro-Palestine protests because the governor “knows if he makes one wrong move it’s Joever for him and my 4th grade teacher… i.e., his WIFE.”
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The mother of a teacher from Pennsylvania who remains detained in Russia joined Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Monday to request the Biden-Harris administration designate her son as wrongfully detained.
Malphine Fogel joined McCormick at his family home, where the Republican said they visited about the recent return of American prisoners from Russia following a trade by the Biden-Harris administration.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia confirmed on Wednesday that Former Fulton County Jail guard Monique Clark was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release after she strangled an inmate who was in handcuffs until the inmate lost consciousness.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Georgia Star News in September 2023 that Clark is a biological female, and was housed in a female unit of the Fulton County Jail, but government officials with the FBI and Department of Justice exclusively used masculine pronouns while describing her crimes in a press release.
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Henry Leventis, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee who oversaw the FBI search warrant served on Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) last Friday, previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney under special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Leventis supervised the FBI search warrant executed at Ogles’ Maury County home. In a statement, Ogles said the warrant was issued to obtain his personal cell phone due to well-reported issues with his initial campaign filings. Ogles filed amendments earlier this year that he claims corrected what were honest mistakes.
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The Tennessee Democrat who received the nomination to challenge Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in November blamed the state’s “white patriarchy” last year after the General Assembly did not pass gun control legislation during a special session in the wake of the March 27, 2023, attack on the Covenant School.
Maryam Abolfazli, the Democratic nominee for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, wrote in an August 2023 article published by Tennessee Lookout that the “white patriarchy” was responsible for the failure of gun control legislation to materialize during the special session called by Governor Bill Lee in the wake the Covenant School attack.
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Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick argued on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris decided against selecting Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to complete the Democratic presidential ticket due to the governor’s “strong stand on Israel” and “Jewish background.”
In a post to the social media platform X, the McCormick campaign revealed the candidate made the remarks during a Jewish community round table in Philadelphia after Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to complete her ticket.
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The Tennessee Star learned the controversial and allegedly politicized FBI on Friday executed a search warrant at the Maury County, Tennessee, home of Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Ogles confirmed in a statement provided to The Star that the FBI executed a search warrant for his personal cell phone in an apparent investigation of his campaign filings.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Monday reportedly replaced the head of its internal affairs office in a decision that came months after retired Lieutenant Garet Davidson submitted a 61-page complaint naming the former official, prompting an investigation.
It was reported on Monday by Nashville Banner that Kathy Morante, the head of the MNPD Office of Professional Accountability since 2013, was replaced.
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Former Arizona State Senator Raquel Terán was behind on Monday by just 67 votes to former Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari in the race for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional district, despite Terán receiving the support of U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), and a number of nationally respected Democrats.
After 42,659 ballots for the Arizona Democratic Party primary for the state’s 3rd Congressional district were tallied by election workers, Ansari was found to have received 19,031 votes compared to Terán’s 18,964, giving the former Phoenix official a 67-vote lead and both candidates with about 44 percent of the vote.
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One of the Pennsylvania Republicans selected on Sunday by the presidential campaign for Vice Presidential Kamala Harris to run the commonwealth’s chapter of Republicans for Harris is former Lancaster County Republican Committee chair Ann Womble, who pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol in June.
Named as one of two leaders of Republicans for Harris in Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday, Womble will reportedly help the Biden campaign reach Republicans who supported former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during the Republican Party’s primary.
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U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) on Saturday reportedly warned the presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris that Governor Josh Shapiro holds “excessive” political ambitions.
Fetterman contacted the Harris campaign to provide information about Shapiro as the vice president interviewed the short list of contestants to become complete the Democratic presidential ticket ahead, which reportedly includes the first-term governor, according to German-owned Politico, which reported, “the senator believes that Shapiro is excessively focused on his own personal ambitions.”
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Mesa Mayor John Giles, who is now the co-chair of the Republicans for Harris group, was once censured by his local Republican Party over another endorsement of a Democrat, and previously called former President Donald Trump an “idiot” on a hot microphone.
In a Sunday statement, the Harris campaign described Republicans for Harris as “a grassroots organizing program” created to reach members of the Republican Party who do not support Trump.
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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday sent a letter to ActBlue, the top fundraising platform for Democrats and liberal issues, demanding answers over the money laundering and fraud allegations levied by journalist James O’Keefe and his O’Keefe Media Group.
Miyares posted his letter to the social media platform X, confirming his office questioned ActBlue over allegations of “fraudulent, deceptive, and/or otherwise illegal acts,” including “hundreds of thousands of dollars of contributions through individual donors” in Virginia who purportedly donated “in volumes that are facially implausible and appear suspicious.”
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Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Chair Josh McKoon on Friday announced that former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan will be permanently banned from attending any of the state party’s events, including conventions and caucuses, after Duncan endorsed President Joe Biden then Vice President Kamala Harris.
McKoon additionally confirmed the GAGOP will issue a resolution condemning Duncan for his “self serving and hypocritical behavior,” and “expelling” him from the Republican Party, and that the GAGOP State Executive Committee “will consider action to permanently ban” Duncan from qualifying as a Republican candidate in the Peach State.
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The Never Trump donors who assembled to oppose Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Thursday Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district were trounced by the incumbent, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump more than one year prior to the election.
Ogles’ victory came despite the incumbent being out raised by his opponent, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, who also benefited from more than $600,000 in advertising from the Conservatives with Character super PAC, whose treasurer told The Tennessee Star its primary purpose was to see the Trump-endorsed incumbent defeated.
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The chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) confirmed the party considers Virginia “competitive” for former President Donald Trump in his campaign to retake the White House in November, pointing toward the 2021 victory by Governor Glenn Youngkin as evidence conservatives can still win statewide elections in the commonwealth.
RNC Chair Michael Whatley told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Wednesday that Virginia will be competitive for the Trump campaign after Youngkin showed “how a Republican can win Virginia” with his 2021 victory.
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Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson on Tuesday asked the Augusta City Council to reimburse more than $40,000 in expenses to his personal credit card he claims were necessary for the city to conduct its business, including $10,000 to facilitate a visit from First Lady Jill Biden and more than $2,000 for a trip to the White House.
Johnson claimed to the city council on Tuesday that the expenses were within the city’s budget, and suggested he used his personal credit card as a matter of efficiency.
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Nearly 50 progressive Democrats signed a letter urging Vice President Kamala Harris not to select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to complete her presidential ticket, claiming he will be an “unnecessary obstacle” in her effort to hold the White House against former President Donald Trump in November.
Led by the chair and former chair of the California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, the letter includes a total of 47 names from progressive groups affiliated with the Democrats across the country.
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Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), which owns and operates The Tennessee Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy launched an appeal on Wednesday to reverse Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles’s ruling blocking the release of even one page of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.
Lawyers for SNDM, including America First Legal Foundation attorney Nicholas Barry and attorney Paul Krog, officially filed notice with the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville that it intends to appeal, making SNDM and Leahy the first plaintiffs to appeal Myles’ July 4 ruling.
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Former President Donald Trump raised $25 million during his recent fundraiser at the Bitcoin 2024 conference held in Nashville, according to the conference organizer, who also said it was the second-largest sum raised by the former president in any fundraiser over his three presidential campaigns.
David Bailey, the CEO of the Bitcoin Conference and Bitcoin Magazine, confirmed the $25 million fundraising haul for the Trump campaign in a post to the social media platform X.
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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Wednesday published his public response to the MLK50 article, which accused him of using misinformation about Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Memphis crime in his effort to oust the district attorney from office.
In addition to rebutting or providing context to the five alleged points of misinformation MLK50 reporter Katherine Burgess included in the publication’s report, Taylor also provided the full transcript of the email interview he completed at Burgess’ request.
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Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly confirmed in a Wednesday interview he has no current plans to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday after the presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly suggested its vice presidential candidate will be selected in Philadelphia on that date.
After the Harris campaign confirmed a tour of battleground states, which will include both Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Kelly was asked by a panel of hosts on MSNBC about the reports claiming he is on the short list possible candidates to share a ticket with Harris.
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Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Wednesday issued a statement warning that Vice President Kamala Harris “wants to ban fracking” in Pennsylvania, and suggested Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) would enable her if reelected.
McCormick’s campaign released his statement after Casey was asked about Harris’ prior pledge to ban fracking, and demurred by stating Harris “contributed greatly to our development of new energy sources.”
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Campaign spokesmen for Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly confirmed to media outlets Wednesday that the candidate intends to share a Philadelphia stage with her vice presidential nominee on Tuesday.
The Harris campaign’s reported plan for Harris to announce her vice presidential nominee on Tuesday comes as Governor Josh Shapiro, who is serving his first term as Pennsylvania’s governor, is reportedly among the top names considered by Harris to complete her ticket ahead of the Democratic Party’s convention in August.
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell condemned former President Donald Trump on Saturday as a “threat to democracy,” then humorously asserted the Bitcoin 2024 conference, where the former president spoke, was “secured” and the “threat” gone.
O’Connell made the remarks at the annual Three Star Fundraiser held by the Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP), which the party titled, “For Our Democracy, For Our Freedom.”
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Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick released a new advertisement on Tuesday that declares his opponent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and Vice President Kamala Harris “dangerously liberal on the border.” The video comes after polling data suggested immigration remains a top issue for Pennsylvania voters earlier this year.
The McCormick campaign, in a statement, said the new video highlights public support by Casey and Harris “for decriminalizing illegal border crossings, sanctuary cities, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, blocking funding for a border wall, and more.”
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) celebrated on Tuesday after the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act with bipartisan support.
Blackburn wrote in a post to the social media platform X that the legislation passing the Senate is “a big step to protect” minor children from online harms, and noted Congress last passed legislation with that goal in 1998, when it passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
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The illegal immigrant accused of killing Nashville restaurant owner Matthew Carney on June 19 previously saw unrelated charges for burglary and theft dropped by a Davidson County judge who was apparently unaware of the alleged criminal’s immigration status.
Ulises Raigoz-Martinez was charged by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Homicide Unit after the fatal hit-and-run crash of the Smokin Thighs restaurant owner, with MNPD stating Martinez “admitted that he and an associate” were attempting to steal tools from Carney’s truck when he discovered them.
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Virginia State Police cleared the anti-Israel encampment constructed near the home of Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday after it subsisted for over six months.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) worked with the Virginia State Police to clear the encampment previously constructed on the shoulder of Chain Bridge Road near Blinken’s home on Saturday, with VDOT stating to WTOP the encampment was “unsafe for motorists, bikers and pedestrians and blocks access to emergency vehicles and personnel.”
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Experts claimed in an article published Saturday by The Washington Post that the results of the 2024 elections in Pennsylvania could be delayed because state lawmakers did not pass bills that would allow election workers to begin processing mail-in ballots prior to Election Day.
Because Pennsylvania does not allow its election workers to pre-canvass mail-in votes, which is the process of counting and validating the authenticity of the ballots, experts claim workers could need significant time after Election Day to determine which presidential candidate will carry the Keystone state’s Electoral College votes.
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The Conservatives with Character super PAC supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in her campaign to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Republican primary on August 1 on Wednesday spent more than $256,000 in advertisement in the final days before the election.
A reported filed with the Federal Election Commission by Conservatives with Character treasurer Randy Stamps confirmed the organization spent $200,000 with the New Mexico-based Ad Placement Results LLC, an additional $30,000 to the Nashville-based VOR Media advertising firm, and $26,820 with HTTV Direct LLC, a Virginia-based political mailing firm.
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The campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick announced on Friday its new ad, which features Senator Bob Casey praise Vice President Kamala Harris, will run on television in Pennsylvania during the Olympic Games in Paris.
The campaign confirmed in a statement, “the 60 second viral ad tying Bob Casey to Kamala Harris’s dangerously liberal policies this Monday during the Olympics in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre and Pittsburgh markets.”
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Three complaints filed on Wednesday by the Freedom Foundation allege almost $1.5 million in Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) money, raised from teachers’ union dues, was given to the 2022 political campaign of Governor Josh Shapiro.
The Freedom Foundation revealed on Thursday it filed complaints which allege PSEA made two contributions, totaling about $1.475 million, that were then transferred through an outside organization before reaching the Shapiro for Pennsylvania campaign committee.
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A poll released Thursday and conducted after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection shows former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the battleground states Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, while the former president is tied with the vice president in Wisconsin.
The New Emerson College pollsters found Trump enjoys his greatest lead in Arizona, where they determined 49 percent of voters support him while just 44 percent back Harris.
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Jim Tracy, who is employed as a senior advisor to the Department of Commerce and Insurance, is a board member of the political organization that recently sent $140,000 to a super PAC attacking Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District scheduled for August 1.
Tracy was named as a board member of The Best of Tennessee in a June 6 article by Tennessee Lookout, which reported he was then, “a Senior Advisor to the Department of Commerce and Insurance.”
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The political campaign of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick branded Vice President Kamala Harris the “most liberal presidential nominee” in the country’s history on Monday following the endorsement Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) offered her after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.
Casey endorsed Harris in a Sunday statement posted to social media, shortly after Biden’s decision to withdraw, declaring the vice president is “prepared” to serve and “the best person to meet this moment.”
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Never Trumper political consultant and lobbyist Tom Ingram is one of the founders of The Best of Tennessee, which last month sent $140,000 to the Conservatives with Character super PAC that recently began a $140,000 ad campaign supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in her effort to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Tennessee Republican primary on August 1.
Ingram was listed as one of three founders of The Best of Tennessee in April by Tennessee Lookout, which reported the group’s founders also include pro-abortion attorney Chloe Akers and seasoned political fundraiser Kim Kaegi, who is also the treasurer for the Johnston campaign.
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Police bodycam released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday shows Beaver County, Pennsylvania police officers tell a U.S. Secret Service agent a Butler County Police Department (BCPD) sniper was perched with a direct line-of-sight view of Thomas Michael Crooks as the 20-year-old attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on July 13.
According to Grassley, the dialogue confirms the sniper, identified as Greg in the video, captured photographs of the shooter and shared them with Secret Service, and was tracking him visually but lost sight prior to the shooting.
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The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) confirmed on Tuesday that its delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted unanimously on Monday to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for the president during its convention next month.
In a statement posted to the social media platform X, the Virginia Democrats confirmed the delegates “met virtually” and “unanimously voted to join President Joe Biden in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly considering either Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro or U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) of Arizona to serve as the Democratic Party’s nominee for vice president, a Monday report revealed.
After Harris claimed to obtain the support of the required the number of delegates to be declared the party’s nominee, ABC News reported on Tuesday that Kelly and Shapiro are already the “leading VP candidates” under consideration.
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Randy Stamps, who is the treasurer for the Conservatives with Character super PAC which sent mailers juxtaposing images of Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston and former President Donald Trump, told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday he is among the Republicans who do not want the former president to “dominate” the Republican Party.
Stamps also confirmed Conservatives with Character sent the mailers as part of the $140,000 advertising campaign reported last month, and said it is part of the same advertising campaign that followed a $140,000 cash injection from The Best of Tennessee, whose co-founder is Kim Kaegi, a seasoned political fundraiser who also serves as Johnston’s campaign treasurer.
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The Tennessee super PAC supporting the challenge by Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnson to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-07) in the Republican primary contest for the state’s 7th Congressional district recently received $140,000 from a group connected to Johnston’s campaign.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records confirm the group Conservatives with Character received $140,000 on June 7, 2024 from The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, one of the strategically interlinked organizations co-founded by pro-abortion attorney Chloe Akers and political fundraiser Kim Kaegi in April.
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Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday received the endorsement of both Nashville’s current mayor, Freddie O’Connell, as well as former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in 2018 after it was revealed she used public funds and resources to facilitate an affair with her bodyguard.
The endorsements came after President Joe Biden on Sunday confirmed he will no longer see the Democratic Party’s nomination, then later endorsed Harris to lead the Democrats against former President Donald Trump in November.
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Despite Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) already securing the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, political advertisements mailed to voters depict his only Republican challenger, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, alongside Republican presidential nominee.
The mailers do not appear to be sent by Johnston’s campaign, but are attributed to Conservatives with Character, the super PAC that recently began an advertising campaign against Ogles, and were obtained by The Tennessee Star from a recipient within the district.
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Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Sunday pledged “strong” support for law enforcement after he received an endorsement from the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police (PA FOP), which once endorsed his opponent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).
McCormick confirmed his support for law and order during his Sunday appearance on “This Week in Pennsylvania,” arguing law enforcement is fundamental to a prosperous commonwealth.
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The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) of Washington announced on Friday the rescue of three children and the arrest of a foreign national in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
INTERPOL Washington confirmed in a press release that the agency participated in a joint operation with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 5 to arrest Angelo McQueen, a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas who the intergovernmental agency explained was wanted “for sexual offenses against a minor.”
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Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed on Saturday that the U.S. Secret Service did not attend a law enforcement meeting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, the date former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a campaign rally.
Johnson told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that his team learned the apparent lack of attendance by the Secret Service from local law enforcement.
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