Former U.S. congressman Van Hilleary announced he is seeking the Republican nomination in the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District.
Hilleary represented Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District from 1995-2002 and most recently served as the chief of staff for U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) – who currently represents the 6th District as the incumbent and has since launched a gubernatorial bid – since 2019.
Upon his exit from Congress, Hilleary ran for Tennessee governor, but lost to Democrat Governor Phil Bredesen at the time, and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2006.
Hilleary, who was born and raised in Rhea County, served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and volunteered for two active duty tours in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
While deployed to the United Arab Emirates, Hilleary flew 24 missions during the war as a C-130H navigator. He earned two Air Medals, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the National Service Medal, the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal, the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal, and the Outstanding Unit Ribbon before returning home in 1991, according to his campaign website.
Hilleary said if elected back to Congress, he would fight for “the right-to-life for the unborn; Second Amendment rights; maintaining President Trump’s secure borders on a permanent basis; deporting as many illegal immigrants as is possible and practical; prohibiting biological males from competing in female sports; a strong military to deter our enemies; and a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution to force Congress to live within its means.”
Further, Hilleary said he would also like to see term limits be imposed on members of Congress.
“Tennesseans want to send a conservative fighter to Washington to support President Trump’s America First agenda, and to attack our serious problems head-on…I have the knowledge and experience to hit these problems head-on from day one, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Hilleary said in a statement.
Hilleary joins U.S. Army veteran Dale Braden and Tennessee House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) in seeking the Republican nomination for the 6th District, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Watch Hilleary’s campaign announcement video:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Van Hilleary” by Van Hilleary.
