The July 15 deadline for federal candidates to file their Federal Election Commission (FEC) second-quarter campaign finance reports has passed, and six of the nine candidates for the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat have reports that are available for public viewing.
The FEC second-quarter reporting period covers April 1 through June 30.
As of press time, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles has yet to file his campaign finance report. He told The Tennessee Star on Saturday that there were some issues retrieving bank records and that his treasurer will likely file the report on Monday.
Natisha Brooks’ campaign finance report is not available on the FEC website as of press time and neither is Timothy Lee’s.
Retired National Guard General Kurt Winstead’s campaign report shows $381,980 in net contributions for the second quarter and $757,588 in net expenditures.
Winstead’s report additionally shows $820,431.51 in cash-on-hand, but $680,000 of it is in debt obligations owed by the campaign, all of which is owed to Winstead himself. Of that $680,000, $220,000 is in the form of an unsecured loan provided to the campaign by Winstead and $460,000 is in the form of personal funds provided to the campaign by Winstead, funds he obtained in an unsecured loan obtained at a 3.5 percent interest rate from Pinnacle Bank on June 21.
On March 31, 2022, Winstead loaned his campaign $480,000 and obtained a $460,000 secured loan for the campaign from Pinnacle Bank, which he personally guaranteed and which was presumably secured by his personal property.
His Q2 report shows that his campaign repaid that secured $460,000 loan Pinnacle Bank on April 6 – one week after the March 31 filing deadline for the Q1 FEC report – and on June 21 Winstead obtained a new, unsecured $460,000 loan from Pinnacle Bank on behalf of the campaign.
Winstead additionally loaned his campaign another $200,000 on June 30, bringing the total of unsecured loans provided directly to the campaign by Winstead himself to $220,000.
It is unclear how much of the $680,000 in total debt obligations is available to spend on election activities by the Winstead campaign.
Former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell’s campaign reported $421,360 in receipts with $434,771 cash on hand remaining, bringing her total receipts to $782,087.
Harwell’s campaign report shows $340,419.45 in operating expenditures.
Combat veteran Jeff Beierlein’s report shows that he raised $31,161.04 and loaned his campaign $100,000. He spent $52,089.16 and has $79,145.88 remaining on hand.
State Senate aide Tres Wittum raised $39,298.00, spent $12,929.76, and has $26,368.24 cash on hand as of June 30.
Stewart Parks’ report shows that he raised $6,864.09, spent $5,372.99, and has $2,055.10 in the bank.
Geni Batchelor raised $5,206.59 for the FEC second quarter, spent $5,803.94, and has $1,463.10 available to spend as of June 30.
Early voting started in Tennessee on July 15 and runs through July 30. The Republican primary for the TN-5 seat is scheduled to occur on August 4.
The 5th Congressional District consists of parts of Davidson, Williamson, and Wilson counties, as well as all of Maury, Marshall, and Lewis counties.
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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, Twitter, Truth Social, and Parler.
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Mayor Andy Ogles for Congress. Photo “Kurt Winstead” by Kurt Winstead for Congress. Photo “Beth Harwell” by Beth Harwell. Photo “Tres Wittum” by Tres Wittum. Photo “Stewart Parks” by Stewart Parks for US Congress TN 5th District. Photo “Jeff Beierlein” by Nashville Young Republicans. Photo “Geni Batchelor” by Geni Batchelor. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Harwell voted FOR an Article V Constitutional Convention. She should NOT be trusted. No to Beth
Also who is the young guy? Dougie Howser MD?
Gosh. Gee. Shucks. I thought Winstead was a dirt poor redneck. At least I recall one of his “folksy” ads talking about his upbringing on the farm. The guy is so slick that the makes silicone feel sticky. Just another rich guy wanting to go to Washington to continue to hobnob with the snobs. How does Tennessee keep getting stuck with these egotistical losers (see Haslam, Lee, Corker, Alexander, et al.)?
We need close primary elections and to add runoffs. How can that be made to happen?
Only by conservatives capturing the leadership of the Republican Party by consistently electing proven conservatives to every General Assembly and Republican Party office on the ballot. As it stands, closed primaries don’t happen because the centrists/tepid conservatives who run the Tenn. Republican Party like those Democrats and leftist Independents barreling into Republican primaries to vote against the most conservative candidates running in any contested election. The status quo suits them real fine.
As for runoffs it is obvious the pros don’t want them to happen because I don’t see any elected officeholder even suggesting their adoption. I believe it might take a constitutional amendment and only the pros can initiate that in this state so I’m afraid its first-past-the-post ONCE in this state for the foreseeable future.
This race will be won by one of three candidates, conservatives Andy Ogles, Beth Harwell (ACU-86%) or former Democrat Gen. Weathervane. With Andy and Beth splitting the conservative vote Weathervane has a real chance to win after receiving about 35% or less of the vote. Conservatives, please don’t waste your vote by voting for one of the No Record/No Chance candidates on the roster when your vote is desperately needed by one of the two conservatives with a long conservative record and a real chance to win.
Seems as if Mr. Ogles has a problem with several types of administrative functions, paying property taxes and filing campaign paperwork. Here we go again having to pick the winner of an alligator beauty contest.
Natisha Brooks – always running and raising money for something she never wins… hmmm.