The Tennessee super PAC supporting the challenge by Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnson (pictured above) to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-07) in the Republican primary contest for the state’s 7th Congressional district recently received $140,000 from a group connected to Johnston’s campaign.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records confirm the group Conservatives with Character received $140,000 on June 7, 2024 from The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, one of the strategically interlinked organizations co-founded by pro-abortion attorney Chloe Akers and political fundraiser Kim Kaegi in April.
While Kaegi is the co-founder of The Best of Tennessee, documents filed with the FEC reveal she also serves as the campaign treasurer for Johnston’s campaign. Kaegi was originally reported to be part of the campaign’s fundraising efforts.
The $140,000 transfer of funds from The Best of Tennessee to Conservatives with Character occurred just one month before Conservatives with Character spent $140,000 on advertising attacking Ogles.
Earlier this month, The Tennessee Star reported Conservatives with Character’s treasurer is Randy Stamps (pictured here), a former Tennessee Republican Party official who endorsed Ogles’ Democratic opponent during the 2022 general election.
Conservatives with Character was apparently responsible for the recent political mailers sent to voters in the 5th Congressional district which contained photographs of Johnston and former President Donald Trump juxtaposed together and compared the Nashville councilwoman favorably with Republican presidential nominee.
Trump endorsed Ogles’ bid for reelection last year, and while the mailers do not claim otherwise, the reverse side contains an image of the former president giving a thumbs-up next to Johnston’s stance on conservative issues.
A source familiar with the matter told The Star both Trump and his presidential campaign were alerted to the mailers by pro-Trump celebrities in the Nashville area, and confirmed the former president’s team “was not pleased.”
Ogles accused the advertisements of exploiting Trump’s name and likeness in the wake of the attempt on the former president’s life.
“For my opponent to exploit Trump’s name at a time like this for the sake of deceptive politics is disgraceful and despicable,” Ogles told The Star.
In addition to receiving Trump’s endorsement last year, Ogles was recently endorsed by Dr. Ben Carson, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration, who declared Ogles “has done a fantastic job representing the people of TN-05,” since winning his election in 2022.
“Now more than ever, we need patriots like [Ogles] fighting for America First policies in Washington,” wrote Carson.
Ogles also boasts endorsements from Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and seven other state lawmakers, four of his colleagues who represent Tennessee in the U.S. House, Americans for Prosperity Action and the Republican Liberty Caucus, which named him one of its Top Defenders of Liberty in 2023.
Tennessee’s primary elections are scheduled for August 1. Johnston is the only Republican challenging Ogles.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Courtney Johnson” by Courtney Johnson. Photo “Randy Stamps” by TNVol4LIFE CC BY-SA 4.0.
