Republican Businessman Launches Congressional Bid Against Cooper

 

Quincy McKnight, a Nashville businessman, formally entered the race against Democratic Representative Jim Cooper for Tennessee’s fifth Congressional District.

McKnight is the CEO of Covenant Pay Partners, a payment processing company. He grew up in Murfreesboro and attended Middle Tennessee State University.

While some highlighted the difficult road ahead in challenging the incumbent Cooper, McKnight is no stranger to adversity. He grew up in the foster care system but was eventually adopted by a Christian family, according to his campaign website.

“I learned nobody sets your limits. Nobody set your boundaries,” McKnight said at his campaign launch, as reported by the Tennessean.

In his address, McKnight highlighted some of the policies that he would seek to enact if he were to be elected. Among those were a national permitless gun carry law, like that passed in Tennessee earlier this year. Additionally, McKnight criticized excessive government handouts. “We need to take the profit out of not working,” he added.

Over the past years, McKnight has been involved in the Nashville community in various manners. He ran for the Republican nomination to represent state Senate District 21 in 2014. Further, “He is a board member of C12, which is the country’s largest network of Christian CEOs and executives,” his website adds.

Rep. Jim Cooper has held onto the seat for almost 2 decades. However, he is receiving considerable challenges — including from a member of his own party. Odessa Kelly has started a primary challenge against Cooper and is backed by the far-left activists Justice Democrats. The group has successfully assisted multiple liberal challengers in primaries to defeat incumbents.

On the other side of the political aisle, Republican Robbie Starbuck is also running in an attempt to unseat Cooper.

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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Quincy McKnight” by Quincy McKnight. Background Photo “Nashville City Hall” by euthman. CC BY-SA 2.0.