Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed TN-5 congressional candidate Timothy Lee in studio to talk about why he’s running, his perception of money in campaigning, and his top three issues.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed TN5 GOP candidate Jeff Beierlein in studio to reiterate his platform, priorities, and agenda if elected to Congress.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio weighs in on top three TN5 candidates Harwell, Ogles, and Winstead but takes special note of former Blackhawk pilot Jeff Beierlein.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN-5 congressional candidate Jeff Beierlein in studio to discuss his background in leadership and managing people and what separates him from the rest of his opponents.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN-5 congressional candidate Jeff Beierlein in studio to talk about going from unknown to a political candidate and turning around America.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN-5 congressional candidate Jeff Beierlein in studio to discuss Alejandro Mayorkas’s blatant lies about the southern border and his number one goal if elected to Congress in 2022.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to speculate whether or not TN5 candidate Kurt Winstead’s campaign is propping up cash on hand based on recent financial reporting.
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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 reflect upon the successful and unconventional new debate style held at the downtown Nashville Masonic Lodge Tuesday evening.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed The Tennessee Star’s national political editor Neil McCabe to the newsmaker line to discuss his attempt at an in-person interview with Beth Harwell Tuesday night at the VIEW PAC fundraiser in Washington in her absence at The Epoch Times Nashville debate.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN5 candidate and newcomer to politics, entrepreneur Geni Batchelor in studio to discuss her life experience and why she’s running for Congress.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN5 Congressional Candidate, Jeff Beierlein to the newsmaker line to discuss his experience as a Blackhawk pilot, facing fear, and his proven leadership abilities.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee 5th Congressional District candidate, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to the newsmaker line to discuss his recent campaigning efforts, why he’s the best choice for Tennessee and the upcoming Epoch Times debate.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio the strategic issue-free campaign of TN5 candidate General Kurt Winstead.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to break down the front runners and their strategies in Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District race.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host and Lead Reporter for The Tennessee Star, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss the upcoming TN5 debate roster.
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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 to discuss the upcoming unconventional debate at downtown Nashville’s Masonic Lodge on July 12th.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss the concept of primary elections by state and the importance of the TN5 race.
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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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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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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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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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Former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell, a candidate for the TN-5 GOP nomination, announced on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that if elected, she will limit herself to three terms of service totaling six years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Harwell has additionally signed the U.S. Term Limit’s pledge which states “that as a member of Congress I will cosponsor and vote for the U.S. Term Limits Amendment of three (3) House terms and two (2) Senate terms and no longer limit.”
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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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In an exclusive statement provided to The Tennessee Star, Beth Harwell, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and candidate in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district seat, announced that she has raised nearly $350,000 in the five weeks since entering the race.
“I am proud to have the support of so many Tennesseans as we campaign to bring some common sense to Washington.” she said. “We need someone in Congress who knows the needs of Tennessee and will fight to bring back American greatness. I intend to do just that.”
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-57) State Representative Susan Lynn in studio to discuss the status of the residency bill that is up for a vote Monday night.
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Records show that Tennessee newcomer and D.C. insider Morgan Ortagus has finally moved into the boundaries of Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district, a district she seeks to represent in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Tennessee Star previously reported on February 9 that Ortagus did not live in the district. Her voter registration record showed that the address she registered to vote from was not located within the Tennessee Fifth Congressional district lines.
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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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Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden has confirmed to The Tennessee Star that the state party has received and verified challenges to the Republican bona fide status and ballot eligibility of TN-5 carpetbagger candidates Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and David Vitalli.
Baxter Lee’s status has also been challenged, likely due to his vote in the 2020 Democrat presidential preference primary.
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Recent New York transplant David M. Vitalli, who told a magazine that he’s a JFK Democrat and will run for President of the United States in 2024, has joined fellow carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
Vitalli is listed as collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office and he has filed FEC paperwork. Twelve other individuals are currently collecting petitions for the TN-5 GOP primary.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in studio to examine the growing field of GOP candidates for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed GOP primary candidate Morgan Ortagus in studio to talk about her top three legislative objectives if elected to Congress.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed former Trump Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus in studio to answer trivia questions about Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.
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Sources have told The Tennessee Star that the Republican bona fide statuses of Republican primary candidates for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat, carpetbaggers Morgan Ortagus and Robby Starbuck, have been challenged.
The Star reached out to Tennessee GOP Chair Scott Golden to confirm that challenges have been filed against Ortagus and Starbuck. Golden confirmed that challenges have been made to Republicans in the race but he did not specify which candidates had been challenged. He also did not deny that Ortagus and Starbuck have been challenged.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed former Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell to the newsmakers line to officially announce her candidacy for the Fifth Congressional District seat and her two top priorities if elected.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to dissect the candidates for the Fifth Congressional District race with Beth Harwell now in.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed in-studio guest Clint Brewer to discuss the recent New York state voting record information obtained by The Tennessee Star for Morgan Ortagus.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to discuss SB2616 proposed by Senator Frank Nicely that would require state primary election candidates to have three-year residency status.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss the new bill that would require candidates to be a resident of Tennessee for 3 years to run in a primary election.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed a bonafide Republican candidate for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional district, Natisha Brooks to talk about her background and campaign goals.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and lifelong Tennessean, Clint Brewer in studio to give his take on the Fifth Congressional GOP primary race.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in studio to discuss whether or not he’ll enter the race for the 5th Congressional District seat.
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