The treasurer for The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, the super PAC wing of the “moderate” political group founded by fundraiser Kim Kaegi and Democratic pro-abortion lawyer Chloe Akers, donated to the former Democratic political opponent of Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) last year.
Treasurer James C. Seabury III donated $1,000 to the political campaign of Joanne Sowell, a Nashville-based attorney who announced an exploratory committee to consider seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate to challenge Blackburn last year, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
Records show Seabury (pictured above, left) made the $1,000 donation to the Sowell for Senate campaign committee on May 24, 2023. Seabury’s donation is listed on Sowell’s campaign finance report and the FEC database.
Seabury made the donation less than one week after Sowell (pictured above, left) announced she was considering a campaign against Blackburn on May 19.
After the news of Sowell’s possible candidacy broke, her spokesman told media outlets, “Tennessee deserves a senator who is committed to working across the aisle on the issues that matter the most, one who will represent the state with dignity and put partisanship aside.”
Seabury did not immediately return a request for comment about his donation to Sowell from The Tennessee Star.
When Sowell dropped her possible bid for the Senate last September, FEC reports revealed her exploratory committee had raised more than $200,000 during the four months it was active, with attorneys from the Nashville area individually donating thousands. Sowell returned over $128,000 to donors after dropping out of the race.
Also, during the 2024 political cycle, Seabury donated thousands of dollars to the presidential campaigns of Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.
Despite also donating to other Republican presidential candidates, including former President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), and former Senator John McCain, FEC records indicate Seabury has never donated to Trump or any political organization created to support his candidacy.
While Akers told media The Best of Tennessee aims to moderate the state’s politics, the group shares a connection with the U.S. House campaign recently launched by Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston.
FEC reports reveal Johnston appointed Kaegi, who co-founded The Best of Tennessee with Akers, as the treasurer of her congressional campaign.
The Best of Tennessee was previously compared to The Lincoln Project, which similarly began in 2019 with promises its work “transcends partisanship” and seeks the “preservation of the principles that so many have fought for.” The Lincoln Project now declares its mission statement is to “stop Trump, break MAGA, and save America.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “James Seabury” by Enterprise LLC. Photo “Joanne Sowell” by Wood Stabell Law Group.
Why didn’t the author mention radical left wing Gloria Johnson (Tennessee Three) who is running as a Democrat for Blackburn’s seat? Johnson is pushing California type gun restrictions for Tennessee, and blaming gun involved crimes on the gun, not the perpetrator. Blackburn, on the other hand, is looking out for our Constitutional rights and the best interests of ALL citizens of Tennessee. Tennessee does not need a group like “The Best of Tennessee” (phony title) to “save America.” Rather, the people of Tennessee need to be saved from groups like “The Best of Tennessee” who push for National Socialism and Marxist rules and regulations. No thank you!
The left leaning uni party is alive and well in Tennessee.