Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston (District 26) said in remarks published Monday she is considering launching a primary campaign against Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Johnston, who has served on the Metro Council since she ousted incumbent Councilmember Jeremy Elrod in the 2019 elections, though she did not face a challenger in 2023.
“The people of Middle Tennessee deserve better than Andy Ogles,” Johnston told Axios before adding, “We need a tested conservative leader who can deliver and not just talk. I am taking a very close look at the district and am talking to voters. If I run, I intend to win.”
Johnston suggested to Nashville Scene in 2023 that she is able to eschew partisan fights on the Metro Council due to her preference for “good policy.”
“A lot of my colleagues are further left-leaning, but we agree more often than not because good policy is good policy,” she told the outlet.
Johnston explained, “I’m not out here fighting abortion or LGBT anything, like some conservative-leaning groups want me to and have pressured me to do. That’s not what I’m here to do. But we can all agree on fiscal responsibility.”
She found another area of agreement with her Metro Nashville colleagues in March 2022, when the council passed a resolution she sponsored to express support for the people of Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion.
The potential for Johnston to enter the race comes as Ogles has already received a number of high profile endorsements for his reelection, including the early support from former President Donald Trump, who endorsed the congressman for another term in May 2023.
Trump called Ogles “fantastic” and noted that Ogles endorsed his 2020 presidential bid. After that endorsement, Trump wrote, “I was proud to help Andy flip a Democrat seat in 2022, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement for re-election. He will not let you down!”
More recently, Ogles was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), which called him “one of the top defenders of liberty in the House.”
“An unwavering voice for freedom and smaller government, he scored a 95 on our Liberty Index during his first year in Congress,” the group wrote in its endorsement. RLC previously recognized Ogles among its Top Defenders of Liberty in 2023.
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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 “Courtney Johnston” by Courtney Johnston. Photo “Congressman Andy Ogles” by Congressman Andy Ogles.
How has Ogles voted on sending billions to the Ukraine to fight Christianity in Russia? I legitimately don’t know how he has voted?
I’m sure Ogles will be on board Trump’s scheme to call it a “loan”, knowing full well it won’t be repaid.
Need more information.
This city council members expresses that she’s not there to vote on abortion or sexual deviancy. However, her colleagues are constantly bringing up bills related to those subjects irregardless of their irrevleancy in Davidson County. How is she voting on those meaningless bills? Is she “going along to get along” or voting NO! and moving on?
I’d love a legitimate opponent to Ogles who proved himself to be nothing but controlled property of the Pharisees, but not sure this woman is the answer.
So she wants to send billions of taxpayer dollars to the corrupt dictatorship in the Ukraine and considers herself a “Conservative”? Whut? She’s running in the wrong party. Maybe run against the lady ex-mayor who had sex in the cemetery parking lot with her taxpayer-funded security that earned her a felony.
Andy has been awesome since taking office. This woman is delusional. My guess is she hates working with some of these whack jobs on the council and is looking for something else. Maybe she should just quit and open a souvenir stand somewhere.
I wonder who has gotten in her ear to run against Ogles? She surely isn’t based in reality. I would not vote for any candidate from the communist city of Nashville even with an R after their name. There is nothing conservative about anyone that is involved in Nashville politics. Sounds to me like someone is out to get rid of anyone that is truly conservative and she took the bait. This smells fishy to me.
No doubt the Democrats will cross over in this primary and vote for the candidate that agrees with them. Don’t expect inspect. Have this Woman define government function. Policy changes with the wind and represents why our nation is in the financial mess its in right now. Following the law and understanding the limits of government and exercising restraint in executing that responsibility is why Andy Ogles was elected in the first place.
Support for Ukraine is a hard no.