UPDATE:
Late Tuesday night, Just the News reported:
However, the Ortagus campaign told Just the News on Monday that Noronha is not a host of the fundraiser. When shown a copy of the invitation with Noronha’s name listed on the host committee, a campaign representative said he’s not listed on the final version. When asked whether he’s no longer participating in the event or his name was removed, the representative didn’t respond.
Published 12:01 am CT:
Despite it falling on Ash Wednesday, sources tell The Tennessee Star Morgan Ortagus, a candidate for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District and former State Department spokesman, still has a scheduled out-of-state fundraiser in Washington, D.C. with a host committee that includes Never Trumpers and a fired State Department staffer who tweeted that President Donald Trump was unfit for office.
The Star previously reported that the point of contact for the fundraising event is professional fundraiser Lisa Spies, a former staffer for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012 and a 2016 Never Trumper who has a history of opposing Trump.
The Star attempted to contact Spies and the Ortagus campaign about the status of the D.C. fundraiser, but have not heard back as of this writing.
In 2016, Spies blasted then-candidate Trump and claimed that he was going to lose the Republican women’s vote. Spies’ husband, Charlie Spies, another former Romney staffer, celebrated Biden’s inauguration, tweeting “Congratulations to President Biden and Vice President Harris. May G-d Bless you with wisdom and justice and continue to bless America. #InaugurationDay.”
John Noonan, a former member of the Jeb Bush and Romney campaigns, is a prominent member of the host committee for the Ortagus fundraiser. In 2016, he wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times titled “I was a Minuteman III nuclear launch officer. Take it from me: We can’t let Trump become president” in 2016.
In the op-ed, Noonan called Trump mentally unfit and said he couldn’t be trusted with nuclear weapons.
“I believe my party’s nominee for president is mentally unfit to assume this heavy responsibility.” he said. “Trump cannot be trusted with weapons that can kill millions. He cannot be handed the nuclear “football” – a briefcase containing the war plans and codes for our nuclear forces – and be made responsible for its contents.”
The host committee also includes a number of professional D.C. political operatives. Drew Maloney and Samantha Dravis are former Romney staffers. Reginald Brown is former deputy counsel to Bush. Alex Lawhon served as a fundraiser for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. Fritz Brogan is a former co-chair of of the same super PAC that Ortagus worked for during the 2016 cycle that supported Bush for president.
Two people heading this event are Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2). In the past, Crenshaw called the House Freedom Caucus “grifters” and “performance artists.”
The Star previously reported that the host committee for the event included Gabriel Noronha, a fired former State Department staffer who tweeted in the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021, that “Trump is entirely unfit to remain in office, and needs to go.”
Other candidates who are running in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Republican primary are former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell, California native and music video director Robby Starbuck, businessman Baxter Lee, former Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, and Natisha Brooks.
Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles and Tennessee state Senate staffer Tres Wittum are considering whether to run. Candidates have until April 7 to file their qualifying petitions for the GOP primary, which occurs on August 4.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Or perhaps she knows the global agenda as Biden informed us. The most vulnerable system ever.
Maybe it would be best to let her run in the primary and be shut down at the poll by conservative Tennesseans. When one lies with dogs, one gets fleas. Of course, in this case, she may be the flea-bitten dog.
This carpetbagger is already running with some slimey swamp people. Not a very smart way to start a campaign in Tennessee. Not impressive at all! No class at all! Maybe she could hold fundraisers with the slickster Starsrtuck they seem to be from the same mold Carpetbagger for Themselves not Tennessee! Get out, go away and do not come back, both her and Starstruck!
Clearly she has no clue how informed Conservative voters are and we’re all idiots -or- she doesn’t care. My guess is the former. She thinks she can AOC her way into this seat? Well she’s got another thing coming.
This carpetbagger is already running with some slimey swamp people. Not a very smart way to start a campaign in Tennessee. Not impressive at all! No class at all! Maybe she could hold fundraisers with the slickster Starsrtuck they seem to be from the same mold Carpetbagger for Themselves not Tennessee! Get out, go away and do not come back, both her and Starstruck!