State Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), who is the Caucus Chair for the Republicans in the Tennessee State House, on Thursday called for the resignation of Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee Member Oscar Brock, who last month said he will cease all support for Republican incumbents over the federal government shutdown.
Brock made the statement in an October post to social media, writing, “I’m not going to support ANY member of Congress who runs for reelection this year.” Brock did not clarify his statement when reached by The Tennessee Star on Thursday, and instead told The Star that Republicans were wrong to accuse Democrats of keeping the government closed because they want to secure funding to provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants.
Faison, who was first elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 2010, called for Brock’s resignation in a Thursday statement to The Star.
“At a time when Democrats are openly backing a socialist like [Zohran] Mamdani, the last thing we need is a Republican publicly declaring that they will refuse to support our GOP nominees and elected officials,” said Faison. “President Reagan reminded us that someone who agrees with us 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not an enemy.”
He told The Star, “If Oscar Brock cannot stand with the team and support our candidates, he should step aside until he decides where he truly belongs.”
The call for Brock’s resignation by Faison follows the earlier call by Michael Patrick Leahy, the Editor-in-Chief of The Star, who called on Brock to either retract his statement or resign from both his positions on the Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee and the Republican National Committee (RNC), where Brock is one of three National Committeemen who vote on behalf of Tennessee.
“His statement that he will not support any members of Congress in a state that has six incumbent Republican Congressmen running for reelection, and one Republican U.S. Senator running for reelection, is a clear violation of his duties as a member of the Executive Committee and as Tennessee’s representative to the RNC,” said Leahy.
Faison and Leahy were complemented by Aaron Gulbransen, the former reporter for The Star who now leads the Tennessee Conservative Coalition. Gulbransen called for Brock’s resignation during a Thursday appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“Oscar Brock has just publicly announced he is not going to do his job as National Committeeman, at the least,” said Gulbransen. “He is providing aid and comfort to Democrats who are going to be challenging all of these Republican congressmen.”
He stated, “If that wasn’t his official statement of resignation from his position as National Committeeman, he absolutely needs to resign.”
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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 “State Rep. Jeremy Faison” by State Rep. Jeremy Faison.
