Despite Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) already securing the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, political advertisements mailed to voters depict his only Republican challenger, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, alongside Republican presidential nominee.
The mailers do not appear to be sent by Johnston’s campaign, but are attributed to Conservatives with Character, the super PAC that recently began an advertising campaign against Ogles, and were obtained by The Tennessee Star from a recipient within the district.
In a statement to The Star, Ogles said Trump “sacrificed everything to fight to Make America Great Again. The entirety of our DOJ has been weaponized against him, and he has literally just taken a bullet for his country.”
Ogles added, “For my opponent to exploit Trump’s name at a time like this for the sake of deceptive politics is disgraceful and despicable.”
He also stressed his relationship with the former president, who praised Ogles when endorsing his reelection last year.
“I was one of the very first public officials to receive President Trump’s endorsement because he knows I will never stop fighting for Tennessee’s Fifth District. I was with Trump in New York during that sham trial,” Ogles told The Star. “Come hell or high-water, I will always put my constituents first.”
The front side of the ad features Trump and Johnston and describes them both as “conservatives,” “business leaders” and “outsiders.”
A photo of the mailer’s front side was posted to the social media platform X, where the user questioned whether Ogles was aware of its existence and wrote, “[d]esperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.”
The reverse side of the ad claims Johnston and Trump “know that politicians won’t fix our problems” and “real conservative leaders can.” It claims both Johnston and Trump intend to secure the border, “end inflation [and] shrink the debt,” impose term limits on Congress, and “crack down on crime.”
While the mailer does not claim Johnston is endorsed by Trump, the reverse side of the document contains an image of the former president giving a thumbs-up.
Neither Johnston’s campaign nor Randy Stamps, the treasurer for Conservatives with Character, replied to inquiries from The Star prior to press time.
A source familiar with the matter told The Star both Trump and his campaign were made aware of the mailer after several high profile pro-Trump celebrities, who live in Nashville and received the mailer, forwarded it to the former president in frustration. The source told The Star that Trump’s campaign “was not pleased.”
The Star previously reported that Stamps, once the Tennessee Republican Party’s political director, more recently endorsed the 2022 Democratic opponent Ogles faced after he won the Republican Party’s nomination.
At the time, Stamps declared Ogles “an angry, narrow-minded political pawn,” and claimed Nashville would be best served by the “temperament and intellect” of his Democratic opponent, State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville).
Ogles, while maintaining his support from Trump, was this week endorsed by Dr. Ben Carson, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration.
He also boasts a 100 percent rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard, and in 2023 Ogles was named one of the Top Defenders of Liberty by the Republican Liberty Caucus, which later endorsed his bid for reelection.
The primary date for Tennessee is August 1, and Johnston is the only Republican candidate challenging Ogles for the nomination.
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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 Johnston” by Courtney Johnston for Congress.
This is similar to the barrage of mailers I have been getting that tout how wonderful the state senator RINO Farrell Haile is. He has proven to be anything but a conservative for the 12 unproductive years he has been in the state senate. I wish that there was a way to expose those who lie for a living.
Ignorance of Representative Andy Ogles accomplishments in his two years as a Freshman in Congress is a choice. People can look at his voting record. He is on all Social Media. I call his office on average once a month. That is our duty as the ones who were given a Republic by our Founders. They put WE THE PEOPLE in charge of our destiny. We Hire & Fire our ELECTED EMPLOYEES who go to DC to vote on issues that affect our daily lives. If they do a good job, we don’t want to fire them. When you get a good Representative into office, why would you fire that employee?
I’m so proud of how promptly Andy responds to Constituents every request & inquiry.
I was proud that he was one of the first House members to go to NYC & STAND with President Trump as he went through the Unconstitutional Lawfare by the Left. I doubt very seriously that puppet master Randy Stamps
(a Never Trumper) would allow her to Represent her Constituents in the 5th District. Randy has never been a
Conservative. When he was in the TN House, he was a RINO, along with his pal Beth Halteman Harwell.
Courtney will not be an America First Patriot. Have you ever heard her say anything positive about Donald Trump?
Trump endorsed Andy Ogles because Andy want to help clean out the Swamp, & close borders to illegals. Andy wants to improve the American economy by supporting entrepreneurs, & lowering taxes, & reinstating DRILL BABY DRILL, which will bring down energy prices, stop inflation. Andy wants to
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
I’ve never heard Miss Courtney utter those words.
“We are a Republic If We Can Keep It”
Benjamin Franklin
The group “Conservatives with Character” lacks “character”. It sounds like a fake conservative group – probably Dems or Trump-Haters,. I got that card from Johnston and it’s clearly intended to mislead voters. It’s something Dem activists would do.
Andy Ogles has fought to protect District 5 from the d.c. swamp deimoncrats. Andy Ogles has sponsored 131 bills and co-sponsored 367 bills into Legislation. Andy gave 56 remarks before Congress during his 1.5 years.
I’m proud of Andy and will stand on any sloped roof with him as I know I’ll be protected.
What have you done.Mr. Rogers?
Courtney Johnston in reality is a “karen” aka Jill Biden 2.0.
Not much difference between Karen Courtney Johnston and Gloria Johnson, two unstable candidates.
Andy Olges is the right vote for the right reasons.
Andy is our man for US HOUSE DISTRICT 5.
She is a perfect Democrat for the Rhino party. Courtney is as fake as the smile on her face.
We all see you breaking the following:
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.
How many more, Courtney?
I’m waiting for you to now repeat the nonsense that Trump lied 30,000 times and it is documented. If it is, let’s see it, Sparky. So go back to putting out lawn signs for this fraud.
We received one of these in the mail this past Saturday. I. too, was outraged. This woman is so ungenuine, it’s not funny. She reminds me of a souther Gretchen Whitmer. She’s no outsider. She’s a rare R in a sea of D – that does not qualify as an outsider. Her TV ads are so misleading, it’s disgusting. She claims she shook up the city council. Yeah, right. She fought against taxes – what non-dem hasn’t? Total BS. She claims Andy hasn’t done anything in DC. Name one freshman who has had a significant impact on congress. I’ll wait.
She has lots of dark, dirty money behind her campaign. She is no conservative. One or two topics makes not for a dedicated conservative. Thsi advert she sent out shows just how low she is willing to go to get elected. We have enough of them already, thank you very much.
no one wants her outside of nashville.
She doesn’t have a chance, appears fake and is already lying. This RINO has no business being in Congress.
“Neither Johnston’s campaign nor Randy Stamps, the treasurer for Conservatives with Character, replied to inquiries from The Star prior to press time.”
The above quote from The Star story says it all.
In my opinion, the so-called conservative Republican, Courtney Johnston, is as phony as a ‘three-dollar bill’.
Pinnochiogles is a oroven liar who achieved nothing in two years but participating in the humiliation of a Republican Speaker and the decline of the Party. That you pimp for him reflects on how debased the Conservative movement has become.
Mark – So you read the TN Star? Why? I think you’re a Dem.or a Never-Trumper, or work for Johnston.