Tennessee State Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) has announced he has “no plans” to run for Congress in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District amid the announcement of incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green’s (R-TN-07) retirement.
“For me, family is more important than any congressional title in Washington DC. I’m honored to be your state senator and have no plans to run for congress,” Powers wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
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Four possible Republican candidates expressed an interest in representing Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District to The Tennessee Star when asked on Thursday after Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced his intention to retire from Congress at the end of his term.
The Star asked Dr. Omar Hamada, Robby Starbuck, Jeff Beierlein, Dr. Manny Sethi, and State Senators Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) and Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) about their interest in running for office.
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School choice activist Corey A. DeAngelis joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a rally he, Robby Starbuck, and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) held in Nashville supporting Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice plan, known as the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
On Tuesday, DeAngelis, Starbuck, AFP, and other school choice advocates held a Rally for School Choice & Parents’ Rights at the state Capitol in support of the governor’s school choice plan.
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The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee voted in a specially called meeting on Saturday to tighten the standards for candidate eligibility in GOP primaries in the state, effective immediately.
Article IX, Section 1, Paragraph B of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) bylaws had been previously amended in a September 7, 2023 meeting of the SEC to state that “Beginning in 2026, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Article IX, Section 1A, an individual who has voted in any of the most recent four (4) statewide primary elections held by a party other than the applicable Republican Party will be ineligible to seek the Republican nomination for any public office in Tennessee.” (emphasis added)
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A microbiologist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, known as WokeScientist on her Instagram account, took to her social media page to defend Hamas for the terrorist network’s barbaric attack on Israelis.
Dr. Ayesha Khan, a VUMC resident and clinical fellow in microbiology in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, insists on her Instagram page that “a ceasefire is not enough.”
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Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom caught the attention of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Twitter over the weekend after criticizing legislation recently signed into law in the Volunteer State.
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Retired Navy SEAL Chris Beck, who called himself Kristin Beck for nearly ten years, announced he is detransitioning, and warned Americans that LGBTQ activists pushing transgender health services on children are harming them.
In 2013, Beck, a combat veteran who served for over 20 years, with 13 deployments and numerous medals, came out as the first transgender soldier on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, a story that, podcast host Robby Starbuck noted earlier this month, was watched by “tens of millions of people.”
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Author and journalist Matt Walsh released an updated list of speakers who will be attending the ‘Rally to End Child Mutilation’ Friday at the Tennessee State Capitol.
As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, Walsh announced the rally to “end child mutilation, sterilization, and abuse in Tennessee hospitals and beyond” earlier this month after he broke the story on how Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) was caught providing transgender surgeries to minors.
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The brewery where a child touched the groin of a drag queen at a “family friendly” drag show claims it is the victim of Republican smears.
“We hosted Chattanooga Pride on Saturday September 24 as one of their locations to hold a Family Friendly Pride Event as part of Chattanooga Pride Week,” said Wanderlinger Brewing Company Co-Owner Chris Dial. “We have hosted a few of these events over the last few years for them with one of the more recent even including local politicians. The video that was taken by a supporter of Robby Starbuck [and] was a targeted attack against our business and more specifically the LGBQT community as seen with similar events they targeted at [Tennessee] Tech, Memphis and calling for action against more. If you look at his social media he is very strongly targeting this kind of activity across the state, whether you agree or not that is the fact.”
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In a statement provided to The Tennessee Star Friday, Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) Chair Scott Golden reacted to the unanimous decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court that “completely vindicated” the party’s actions in determining that Robby Starbuck, a disqualified Tennessee 5th Congressional District candidate, was not a bona fide Republican because he did not meet the requirements as outline in the bylaws.
Golden said, “We very much appreciate the unanimous decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The ruling completely vindicated the actions of the Tennessee Republican Party and affirmed our authority to ensure that only Bona Fide Republicans are allowed to be Republican candidates for office.”
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The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tennessee Republican Party, vacating the injunction ordering Robby Starbuck on the August Republican Primary ballot and ruled that the TRP is not subject to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.
The Court stated that Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins erred in his decision.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to dissect the Robby Starbuck lawsuit and explain how the Open Meetings Act could affect all political parties in the state of Tennessee.
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Robby Starbuck’s legal team filed the required response on Thursday morning with the State Supreme Court to the state of Tennessee’s petition filing which seeks to have Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Perkins’ order adding him to the ballot overturned.
Starbuck had until 10am to file the response, per the order of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court will not hear oral arguments in their expedited review of Robert Starbuck Newsom v. Tennessee Republican Party Et Al. case.
According to the case status website, a deputy clerk, and the press officer for the Tennessee Courts System, the case will be decided on briefs only.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court has assumed jurisdiction of the Tennessee Republican Party’s appeal of Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins’ ruling ordering disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck on the August 4 Republican primary ballot.
The Court assumed jurisdiction over the objections of Starbuck’s legal team, who argued in a brief that their involvement was not warranted. Clearly, the Court disagreed.
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Elected Democrat Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins, who ordered Robby Starbuck to be placed on the TN-5 Republican primary ballot, denied disqualified candidate and fellow carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus’ motion to be enjoined to his order and be placed on the ballot.
According to court documents, Ortagus filed a motion to be enjoined to Starbuck’s ruling on Tuesday. Her request was promptly denied by Judge Perkins on the same day.
Perkins cited two reasons for his denial. “First, the motion is not accompanied by a ‘verified complaint, affidavit, or other evidence that the movant’s [Ortagus’] rights are being or will be violated,'” he wrote.
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Robby Starbuck’s legal team filed its response as ordered by the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville.
Starbuck’s team was required to file the response by 4pm on Tuesday.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Executive Director Deborah Fisher, to the newsmaker line to comment upon the recent ruling by Judge Russell Perkins to the Tennessee Republican Party to reinstate Robby Starbuck as a GOP candidate for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.
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The state of Tennessee filed a petition asking the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville to vacate Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins’ order putting Robby Starbuck on the August 4 Republican primary ballot.
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The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) filed their appeal on Monday morning with the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville of the ruling made by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins ordering disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck on the August 4 primary ballot.
The Court of Appeals ordered Starbuck to respond to the TRP’s filings by 4pm on Tuesday.
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Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) Chairman Scott Golden exclusively told The Tennessee Star on Saturday morning, that the TRP will be filing an appeal of Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins’ ruling ordering Robby Starbuck on the ballot on Monday.
“We’re disappointed with the judge’s ruling, obviously, and we’ll be filing an appeal on Monday,” said Golden.
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Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins said at the conclusion of a hearing on Thursday that he will issue a ruling Friday on disqualified Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District candidate Robby Starbuck’s motion for injunction.
Starbuck’s legal team hopes that the judge will grant the injunction and put Starbuck on the ballot.
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Disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Republican Party and its state executive committee in Davidson County Chancery Court on Friday, May 20.
The official case name is Robert Newsom v. Tennessee Republican Party, et al and Davidson Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins is presiding.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the new official guest host, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to weigh in on the TN5 GOP candidate field and fundraising efforts thus far.
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“On the basis of the foregoing, Starbuck’s Amended Motion for a Preliminary Injunction will be denied,” wrote District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw Judge Crenshaw as he denied Robby Starbuck’s request for an injunction which would have put him back on the ballot.
Judge Crenshaw appeared to telegraph this decision during oral arguments and the decisions points to the judge’s stated desire that the issue should be settled in state court.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw appeared to take an extremely skeptical view of the case presented by Robby Starbuck’s legal team during a Tuesday hearing on a preliminary injunction request.
In its motion, Starbuck’s legal team asked Judge Crenshaw to void the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP)’s decision to disqualify him from Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District Republican primary and to order the Tennessee Department of State to put him on the ballot.
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In an article titled, “Candidate booted from ballot sues Tennessee GOP”, the Washington Examiner failed to note key facts about the TN-5 candidate disqualification process.
The piece instead irresponsibly used comments by disqualified candidate Robby Starbuck and his lawsuit against the Tennessee Republican Party and the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office as its main source material.
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A hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee regarding a motion made in disqualified TN-5 GOP Congressional candidate Robby Starbuck’s lawsuit against Chairman Scott Golden, the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP), and the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.
The presiding judge is Chief District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, an Obama appointee.
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The aftermath of the Tennessee Republican Party’s removal of Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee from the TN-5 ballot has seen several news outlets, social media influencers, national political figures, and affected candidates have make misinformed claims.
CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Star News Digital Media Michael Patrick Leahy, which owns and operates The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network, provided a full step-by-step breakdown of what really happened that led to Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee’s disqualification from the TN-5 race.
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Disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck is posting frequent calls on social media urging supporters to contact the Tennessee GOP (TNGOP) and demand that the State Executive Committee (SEC) vote to reverse its decision disqualifying him from seeking the Republican nomination.
There’s just one problem: The Tennessee Republican Party is not empowered to put Starbuck back on the ballot and couldn’t reverse its decision even if it wanted to.
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Sean Hannity got the facts completely wrong in a monologue he gave on the Monday, April 25 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program on the Tennessee Republican Party’s action disqualifying carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus from the Tennessee 5th Congressional District August 4 Republican Primary race.
On his radio show, Hannity accused the TNGOP of “actually being willing to change the rules in the middle of the game.”
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Morgan Ortagus, a former candidate for the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat, told a Fox News host on Monday morning that she didn’t know why she was disqualified from the ballot.
“You know, I’m not really sure, Brian,” Ortagus responded to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade when he asked her, “You’re not going to have a chance to run for the Republican nomination in Tennessee as a congresswoman. You got booted off the ballot, why?”
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed GOP Congressional Candidate for TN5, Tres Wittum in studio to comment upon Senator Lindsey Graham’s recent opinion regarding the removal of three candidates for the race.
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Former TN-5 candidate Morgan Ortagus told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Monday morning that the Tennessee Republican Party is corrupt but offered no evidence to corroborate her claims.
Ortagus told Kilmeade at the close of an interview, “We’re going to work on efforts to clean up the corruption here in the Tennessee GOP as well.”
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Many national and local news outlets have reported inaccurately about the process by which the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) disqualified three candidates from the August 4, 2022 GOP primary ballot in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on April 19, 2022.
In the immediate aftermath of this decision made by the TRP in accordance with its bylaws and the laws of Tennessee, Robby Starbuck (legal name Robert Starbuck Newsom), one of the three disqualified candidates, delivered a series of press interviews and social media statements in which he made false claims about the integrity of the TRP’s process in handling his disqualification.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and The Epoch Times’ editor-at-large Roger Simon in studio to discuss his recent article addressing the three candidates taken off the GOP primary ballot for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.
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Scott Golden, the chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, submitted a letter on Wednesday morning in accordance with party bylaws and the state code to Mark Goins, the coordinator of elections for the state of Tennessee, officially notifying him that disqualified Tennessee 5th Congressional District candidates Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee are removed “completely from the Republican August primary ballot.”
The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the TNGOP voted to restore to the ballot, as well as the full list of candidates, in accordance with state law, that the party voted to remove completely.
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Former State Department spokesman and now-former candidate for the GOP nomination for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat Morgan Ortagus issued a statement on the decision by the select committees of the Tennessee Republican Party to disqualify her candidacy.
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TNGOP Scott Golden has confirmed to The Tennessee Star that as of Tuesday evening, Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee, and are no longer candidates for the TN-5 GOP nomination due to a vote by a select committee of the Tennessee Republican party.
The select committee voted not to restore Robby Starbuck, Morgan Ortagus, and Baxter Lee to the ballot after they were previously removed because of verified challenges to their bona fide status.
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The first quarter of 2022 finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck shows that he raised just over $104,000 in the first three months of the year, with 64.73% percent of that– $67,666– coming from out-of-state, and just 35.26 percent of it–$36,857–coming from Tennessee.
Starbuck raised $104,523.78 for the Federal Election Commission reporting period covering January 1, 2022 through March 31, 2022 but had a very high burn rate, spending $71,003.56 of it.
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The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office provided partial clarification on the applicability of the newly enacted three-year residency law to carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck, but left out a reference to a key part of state code.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that mere hours after the enactment of the new three-year residency law for federal candidates in primaries, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office offered conflicting comments about whether he intends to enforce the new law and remove “carpetbagger” candidates from the August 4 Republican primary ballot.
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Within hours of the enactment of a new law on Wednesday that requires candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee to be residents of the state for three years prior to their placement on a primary ballot, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office offered conflicting comments about whether he intends to enforce the new law and remove “carpetbagger” candidates from the August 4 Republican primary ballot.
Reaction from Tennessee state legislators to the comments from the Secretary of State’s office were swift and pointed.
Sources tell The Tennessee Star that if the Tennessee Secretary of State refuses to enforce the newly enacted law and remove any candidate from the ballot for the U.S. House who fails to meet the three-year residency requirement he will be sued to require him to enforce the law.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Ben Cunningham in studio to discuss the four candidates that have been removed from the GOP primary ballot due to Tennessee Republican party bylaws.
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Sources close to Andy Ogles tell The Tennessee Star that he will announce later this week that he will focus on his bid for the TN-5 GOP nomination and will withdraw as a candidate for re-election as mayor of Maury County.
First elected mayor in 2018, Ogles is currently the GOP nominee for Maury County mayor in the Aug 4 county general election, which is scheduled to be held on the same day and in the same Maury County polling locations as the TN-5 GOP primary election.
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On Saturday, April 9, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden briefed the TNGOP State Executive Committee on the challenge process, explaining that the challenges would be adjudicated before noon on April 21.
Prior to the start of the meeting, there was some confusion, as sources expected the TNGOP to take action on the challenges at Saturday’s meeting.
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A select committee made up of members of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee are making preparations to hold a hearing on several challenges that were made to GOP bona fide statuses of candidates in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District (TN-5).
The Tennessee Star previously reported that challenges had been received and verified by the TNGOP to the Republican bona fide statutes of carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck, as well as Baxter Lee. David Vitalli had been challenged as well, but he decided to exit the race and did not turn in his qualifying petitions.
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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles dominated in a straw poll held by the Wilson County GOP, the first test of grassroots strength in the contest for the Republican nomination in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
The straw poll was conducted at the conclusion of the candidate forum hosted by the Wilson County GOP. The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy served as the master of ceremonies. The people of Wilson County packed the room and showed tremendous excitement for the upcoming elections.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Chairman Brad Lytle of the Wilson County Republican Party in studio to give details of the GOP meet and greet scheduled for April 7th at 5:30 pm in Lebanon.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to review the candidate lineup for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional race.
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Records show that California native and candidate for TN-5 Robby Starbuck has given no financial contributions to President Trump or Republican candidates prior to his run for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district.
The Tennessee Star was able to verify that Starbuck gave $40 to WINRED on 10/15/20, $250 to the Williamson County GOP on 7/21/21, $500 to the Williamson County GOP on 2/3/2022, $100 to the Tennessee GOP on 2/28/2022, and an additional donation to the Davidson County GOP last month.
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