Charlie Hatcher received an endorsement from former Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
Hatcher, who is a former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture, is challenging Representative Andy Ogles in the upcoming Republican primary in the state’s 5th Congressional District on August 6th.
In his endorsement of Hatcher, Haslam called him “authentic” and someone who “will be a leader on day one in Congress.”
“His commonsense approach to getting back to the basics of what made our country great is refreshing. I am honored to stand with Charlie Hatcher,” Haslam said, according to The Williamson Herald.
The outlet reported Hatcher got campaign advice from the former governor.
“I sought Governor Haslam’s wise counsel early in this campaign, and he gave me the best advice I have received,” Hatcher said, according to the outlet. “Run the right race, and you can’t lose.”
In 2024, Haslam endorsed Ogles’ opponent Courtney Johnston, who ended up losing to Ogles by 12 percentage points.
Federal Election Commission records show that Hatcher has $186,563 of cash on hand compared to Ogles’ $67,235.
Of the $694,479 Hatcher has raised, he has donated $132,804 of his own money to his congressional campaign. This represents nearly 20 percent of all his campaign donations.
Hatcher has also received $46,498 from WinRed, an online political fundraising platform for Republican candidates.
Ogles has raised $574,962 in campaign funds. The representative has received $80,629 from WinRed, $46,840 from the Freedom Caucus Fund, and $6,600 from billionaire Elon Musk.
According to Kalshi, the online prediction market, Ogles has a 67 percent chance of winning the Republican primary.
President Donald Trump has endorsed Ogles, who has represented the 5th Congressional District since 2023.
“Congressman Andy Ogles is doing a fantastic job representing the incredible people of Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District!” Trump said.
He added that Ogles is a “Conservative Warrior who has strong support from his Community.”
According to Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyzer, Republicans are the favorite in the 5th Congressional District’s general election in November.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “Charlie Hatcher” by Charlie Hatcher.
Haslam endorsement and $1.89 will buy you a cup of coffee at Weigel’s. It is past the time for shady characters like Haslam to stop putting their sticky fingers on the scale of our elections. Self governance is mocked by his brand of political patronage.
Haslam is in a class with Jimmy (18% interest rate) Carter and Joe (Auto-pen) Biden.
Haslam’s great claim to fame is that money can buy the Tennessee governorship. Re: Governor Lee for further explanation.
A Haslam endorsement isn’t exactly the gold standard. Nor silver. Nor bronze.