U.S. Senate Republican candidate Bill Hagerty said Monday that he had filed his nominating petition to qualify for the Republican primary ballot with the most signatures for a GOP candidate running for public office in Tennessee history.
Hagerty announced this on his campaign’s website.
“I’m Bill Hagerty and I’m here today to submit my petition for U.S. Senate. We have over 2,500 signatures from all 95 counties, the most ever in Tennessee. Thank you, Tennessee!” Hagerty said.
U.S. Republican President Donald Trump has already endorsed Hagerty on his official Twitter page, while Hagerty was U.S. ambassador to Japan.
As The Tennessee Star reported, Hagerty announced last fall he would run to replace the retiring U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Hagerty said in a press release at the time that he decided to run after he “saw the threat to Tennessee and our country from the Democrats’ socialist agenda.”
“We must stand up to radical liberals like The Squad and their liberal socialist agenda that would deeply damage the America we know and love,” Hagerty said in a YouTube video announcing his run.
“With President Trump’s support, I’m ready to fight for your family in the U.S. Senate.”
In the ad, Hagerty said The Squad’s goal is “to deliver more government, more crippling debt and less freedom for my children and yours’.”
The Squad is composed of Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
In his ad, Hagerty also said, if elected, he will reduce taxes and regulatory red tape. He also said he is pro-life and will work to confirm constitutionalist U.S. Supreme Court justices “who will not legislate from the bench.”
Hagerty also said he understands the dangers of open borders.
As The Tennessee Star reported, Hagerty warned on Twitter that members of the Democratic Party have brought their immigration agenda to the Volunteer State.
“Democrats aren’t just pushing for their radical immigration policies on the national stage; it’s happening right here at home in TN. Nashville, like every city and town in America, should stand up for the rule of law,” Hagerty tweeted.
As reported, Hagerty was the 30th Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan and was sworn in on July 27, 2017, according to the embassy’s website.
Hagerty’s previous jobs included serving as director of presidential appointments for Trump’s transition team as well as founder and managing director of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm. He was a co-founder of the committee that is bidding to bring a Major-League Soccer franchise to Nashville.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
