Despite Robby Starbuck’s Claims, Wilson County Republican Chair Says Starbuck Didn’t Send Him Anything About His Voting Record

UPDATE and Editor’s Note from February 5, 2022:

Subsequent to the publication of this story, Robby Starbuck contacted The Tennessee Star and stated that he had sent Wilson County Republican Chair Brad Lytle two documents via text message on January 21 he said documented his California voting history. In that same text message, Starbuck said he also offered to provide Mr. Lytle documents on his Tennessee voting history as well.

The Star has asked Mr. Lytle for comment on these assertions.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Doubt continues to be cast upon Robby Starbuck’s claims about his Republican primary voting record.

On multiple occasions, Starbuck claimed that he voted in the August of 2020 and March of 2020 Tennessee Republican primaries. Records provided by Williamson County election officials, where he lives and is registered to vote, contradict those claims.

One of his more recent claims is that he shared his voting record with the GOP committee chairs of Williamson, Davidson, and Wilson counties.

Wilson County Republican Chair Brad Lytle told The Tennessee Star that Robby Starbuck has not sent him anything.

According to Chairman Lytle, Starbuck did reach out via phone call to ask to be a featured speaker at a committee meeting. He was informed that the Wilson County Republican Committee is happy to have any candidate attend a meeting and they’d be given a chance to speak about their campaign, but that the Wilson GOP is not going to be featuring any of the candidates for U.S. Representative in the primary. Lytle also said that Starbuck “graciously offered assistance” with the procurement of speakers for Wilson GOP functions.

Previously reported, the Williamson County GOP Chair, Cheryl Brown, declined to confirm his claims or to share details of what Starbuck has or has not shared with her. The Davidson County Republican Chair, James Garrett, has indicated that he is planning to comment but has not yet not responded to The Star’s request for comment as of this writing.

Starbuck issued several statements to The Tennessee Star on this issue. One said:

Party chairs in Davidson & Williamson have had my voter history from CA and TN for a long time. They’ve had zero issue with it. It’s been sent to the Wilson County GOP chair recently too. I called Williamson County GOP Chair Cheryl Brown last night to confirm that there’s no issue again. Cheryl confirmed again to me that there’s no issue with my eligibility. These rumors stem from people in the establishment who are desperate to keep a true representative of the people out of this race because they know I’m going to win.

The Tennessee Star Report host Michael Patrick Leahy asked Starbuck about his Tennessee voting history and in that interview, Starbuck claimed to have voted in those primaries. When questioned by The Star further in writing, he did not dispute the authenticity of the document supplied by Williamson County election officials.

The Star first presented Starbuck with the document obtained from Williamson County election officials showing his voting record on Friday, January 28, 2022. He was asked if he wanted to comment on his voting history and candidate status as a bona fide Republican. In his initial response, Starbuck did not address the issue of the authenticity of the Williamson County election document to The Star at any time, but he did not deny that it was authentic.

The Tennessee Republican bylaws state that in order to qualify to run in a primary, a candidate must be considered a bon a fide Republican. A bon a fide Republican is a person who is actively involved in the Republican primary and has either voted in three of the past four statewide Republican primaries that they were eligible to vote in, or are “vouched for in writing (to the satisfaction of the decision makers defined herein) as a bona fide Republican by an officer of the TRP or a member of the CEC, excluding SEC members, of the County and/or District where said individual resides. The decision makers defined herein may require additional verification that said individual is indeed a bona fide Republican.”

Scott Golden, Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, told The Star that a candidate will be presumed bona fide until they are challenged. While Starbuck’s voting record supplied by Williamson County election officials suggests that there are grounds for a challenge, it is unclear if his status will be challenged.

Several of Tennessee Republicans are reportedly considering entering the TN-5 race, including former Tennessee State House Speaker Beth Harwell, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, former Tennessee National Guard Brigadier General Kurt Winstead, Nashville businessman Baxter Lee, and former Trump Administration State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus.

– – –

Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].