Incumbent Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) defeated Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on Thursday.
Unofficial election results published by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office showed Ogles leading Johnston by 13.7 percentage points with just over 80 percent of the vote counted at 8:45 p.m. – less than an hour after polls closed.
Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District previously included all of Davidson County but has since been redistricted to include parts of Wilson, Williamson, Maury, Marshall, and Lewis counties.
Americans for Prosperity Action, which endorsed Ogles’ reelection bid, congratulated the congressman on his primary victory on Thursday.
“We are thrilled to congratulate Rep. Andy Ogles on his primary election win. Tennessee voters once again clearly showed they want principled conservatives to fight for our state in D.C. Congressman Andy Ogles is the champion for liberty and fiscal responsibility who Tennesseans can trust to represent our great state,” AFP Action Senior Advisor Tori Venable said in a statement.
“We are incredibly proud of our volunteers who worked tirelessly to support Rep. Ogles’ primary win. Authentic grassroots support, like knocking on doors and phone banking, wins elections. Even in the short engagement window, AFP Action staff and volunteers made 36,000 voter contacts; our grassroots powerhouse was a key player in this victory. We might be outspent, but our Tennessee volunteers will not be outworked,” Venable added.
Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has served as the U.S. representative for the Volunteer State’s 5th Congressional District since January 2023.
While in Congress, Ogles has earned a 100 percent rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard, the nation’s leading conservative scorecard.
Before his election to Congress, Ogles served as the mayor of Maury County from 2018 until 2022.
The incumbent congressman went into Thursday’s primary race with endorsements from multiple high-profile Republican leaders both from within the Volunteer State and in Congress.
Last week, for example, Ogles was endorsed by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
Ogles was also endorsed by multiple Tennessee state legislators, congressional legislators, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04), and former President Donald Trump.
Johnston, on the other hand, marketed herself as a pro-Trump conservative, however, carried a left-of-center record as a councilmember on the Metro Council.
In addition to her questionable record on the Metro Council, Johnston’s campaign was also connected to The Best of Tennessee, the “moderate” political operation organized by seasoned political fundraiser Kim Kaegi, Knoxville-based Democratic lawyer and abortion advocate Chloe Akers, and other anti-Trump individuals.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Courtney Johnston” by Courtney Johnston and “Andy Ogles” is by Andy Ogles.
how much money did nashville rinos waste on this failed effort?
Another “moderate” goes down in defeat. Thankfully!
Best news I’ve heard in a long time. Congratulations Andy Ogles and his team!!!
Conservatives must work together and make sure we don’t lose any seats this November.
We must work hard to keep Marsha and most important work wisely to gain a few Senate seats in other states. The 2 most populated counties in TN will be voting for the unqualified and dangerously unhinged gloria for US Senate.
We will lose this nation completely and everything we once knew to be true will be stripped away from us if and there will be no turning back ever. On every city, county, state and federal
level we are being forced to give the government everything they want and their agenda is not for improvements but pure chaos and unlimited power. It’s so depressing how local leaders have ruined cities becaue of their complete incompetence and negligence.
There is nothing more dangerous than activist’s imaginations which in turn have prompted the fed and state government to use experimental voodoo on young children turning them into monsters. Beware of the ferocious wolves and protect your sheep!! We must stay strong and Fight Fight Fight!!
Again, Andy Ogles 2024!!! We must beat District 5 demoncratic opponent who is a rubber stamp of the infamous “squad team” in the d.c. swamp.
Good. She’s a RINO and looks like fatal attraction.
I dare say that when the final numbers are in, the ‘Never Trumpers’ and the RINO (i.e., fake or false) ‘Republicans’ and the Democrats spent AT LEAST $750,000.00 to defeat U. S. Rep. Ogles. In my opinion, Congressman Ogles is one of the best (along with a few others such as U. S. Rep. Burchett etc.) in the entire country. There is a large group of ‘problem’ Republicans in our State. When their candidate wins the party primary they always DEMAND that the Conservatives fully support that person. But when this scenario is reversed, they refuse to do the same. The so-called ‘Moderate’ Republicans are what I call the ‘Rule or Ruin’ crowd. Congressman Ogles’ win demonstrates that a ‘real deal’ Conservative who ‘stands by his principles’ will win in Tennessee. Tennessee Republicans are Conservative Republicans.
And one final thought, I wonder how many of Courtney Johnston’s voters yesterday were in fact Democrats who did not feel compelled to vote in the Democrat Primary. This is why I think that Tennessee should have CLOSED primaries. I have used this analogy before, a local Rotary Club’s members should not be allowed to choose who will serve on the local Lions Club’s board of directors. Similarly, the local Presbyterian Church’s members should not be allowed to vote to help choose the local Baptist Church’s deacons. You get the point.
Now Courtney can go back to voting her left-wing record on the Metro Council like virtually all the other nest of Marxist vipers.
Congratulations!!! We Tennesseans are so proud of Andy Ogles.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR A GREAT WIN!!!!
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOU HELPING PRESIDENT TRUMP REMOVE TAXES FROM SOCIAL SECURITY for SENIORS.