Tag: Tennessee Republican Party

Tennessee GOP State Executive Committee Signs Resolution Opposing Bill to Ban Controversial Caucuses from State Primaries

Tom Pappert
Caucus Night

The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) on Saturday passed a resolution in opposition to legislation that would restrict local officials from replacing traditional primary voting for county officials with caucuses, a system that has historically been opposed by Republicans ranging from President Donald Trump to the late Rush Limbaugh.

An image of the resolution posted to the social media platform X state’s the SEC’s opposition to House Bill (HB) 855 by State Representative Lee Reeves (R-Franklin) and Senate Bill (SB) 799 by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), which would require state parties conduct elections to county offices using the same primary method required in most other state and federal elections.

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Williamson County Conservatives Challenge GOP Convention, Cite Alleged Election Integrity Failures in Push for New Vote

Tom Pappert
Williamson County Conservatives

The Tennessee Star obtained the brief submitted on Tuesday to the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) by the Williamson County Conservatives (WCC) slate of candidates who narrowly lost the March 4 reorganization convention held by the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP) to an opposing slate that saw many previous WCRP board members reelected to new positions.

According to the WCC slate of candidates, the March 4 “was conducted in a manner that violated numerous provisions of the TRP Bylaws, compromised election security and integrity, and was tainted by material conflicts of interests,” when it came to registering delegates to participate in the convention.

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Williamson County Conservatives File Election Contest Alleging Election Integrity Failures, Flippant Claim of Burning Ballots at Party Convention

Tom Pappert
Williamson County Reorganization Meeting

The Williamson County Conservatives (WCC) slate of candidates for the leadership of the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP) on Sunday filed an appeal to contest the results of the party’s March 4 reorganizing convention, which they allege suffered from serious election integrity and collusion issues, including the possible burning of ballots, which it said can only be solved with a new convention.

After the narrow victories of the Elevate-2025 slate, which contained four candidates who were already members of leadership, WCC confirmed its “official Notice of Contest” for the county party’s March 4 convention to Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden. 

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Williamson County Conservatives Raise Election Integrity Issues in Reorganizing Convention, Ask Tennessee GOP for Raw Data

Tom Pappert

In the wake of the narrow leadership election for the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP), which saw the Elevate-2025 slate of candidates win, with chairman candidate Steve Hickey elected by a margin of just 44 votes, The Tennessee Star obtained an email sent by Williamson County Conservatives Secretary candidate Kimberly Calcote, which demands information raw data from the WCRP Reorganizing Convention held on Tuesday ahead of a possible appeal of the election results.

Calcote wrote in a Thursday email to Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden and other party officials to report that party members reported “issues and irregularities” with the contest in the days after the contention. After suggesting that declining to address their concerns could lead to a loss of trust among Williamson County Republicans, Calcote requested data and names from the party about the Tuesday contest.

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Tennessee GOP Chairman Confident in Security Measures Taken for Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said he is confident in the security measures being taken for attendees of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee will host the Republican National Convention from July 15-18, during which tens of thousands of delegates, guests, and press members will gather to officially nominate Donald Trump for president and his yet-to-be-announced running mate for vice president.

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Tennessee GOP State Executive Committee Removes 8 Trump Delegates for Not Meeting ‘Bona Fide Republican’ Standard Despite Warning from Campaign

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump. GOP Convention

The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) voted on Saturday to remove eight individuals who were elected as Trump delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in the March 5 primary election in Tennessee.

The convention, which will formally name Donald J. Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee for President in 2024, will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to July 18.

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General Counsel to Trump Campaign Cautions TN GOP Against Removing Duly Elected Delegates to Convention

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump

Since the March 5 primary results were announced, the GOP rumor mill has been filled with claims that several members of the Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee (SEC) intend to challenge the “Republican bona fides” of some of the elected Trump delegates at an April 6 meeting of the SEC. Such a challenge would be unprecedented and fraught with legal and political complications.

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Tennessee GOP Chairman Scott Golden Explains Delegate Process

Kaitlin Housler
People Voting

With early voting underway for the March 5 Presidential Preference Primary and County Primary Elections, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden explained how voters elect delegates in the Volunteer State.

In addition to the presidential and county candidates, two types of delegates are elected by Republican voters on the primary ballot – at-large delegates, which represent the entire state and appear on the ballot in every county, and delegates that represent each congressional district.

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Tennessee GOP Chairman Scott Golden Assesses 7th Congressional District Race amid U.S. Rep. Mark Green’s Retirement

Kaitlin Housler
Scott Golden

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said he was surprised when Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced his retirement from Congress.

Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his retirement on Wednesday, just one day after leading the House in a historic vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Blount County State Executive Committee-Elect Mark Pulliam Describes Efforts Made by the Tennessee GOP to Keep Him Out

Julie Carr

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Misrule of Law blog creator and California refugee Mark Pulliam to the newsmaker line to discuss his win of State Executive Committee seat in Blount County and the efforts made by the Tennessee Republican Party to take him off after the election had been certified.

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TN-2 State Executive Committee Candidate Mark Pulliam Predicts Write-In Win, Calls for More Effective Grassroots Organization

Julie Carr

Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Misrule of Law blog creator and California refugee, Mark Pulliam to the newsmaker line to discuss his write-in candidacy for TN-02 State Executive Committee position and the need for a more effective grassroots organization to farm conservative teams for public office.

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45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner Set to Feature Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves

Aaron Gulbransen

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden spoke with The Tennessee Star recently about the biggest event of the year: the 45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner.

“This year is the 45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner. It’s going to be taking place on July 30 at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. The reception starts at 5 o’clock. Generally, it has one of the biggest crowds of any political dinner outside of Washington, D.C. in the country,” he said.

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Chairman Scott Golden: Tennessee Republican Party Actions ‘Completely Vindicated’ by Unanimous Tennessee Supreme Court Ruling

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Tennessee Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Against Robby Starbuck, Political Parties Not Subject to Open Meetings Act

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Starbuck Argues Tennessee Supreme Court Lacks Jurisdiction over State Petition Asking Court to Vacate Injunction

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Tennessee Supreme Court Assumes Jurisdiction of Republican Party Appeal of Ruling Placing Starbuck on the TN-5 GOP Primary Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Democrat Judge Favors Carpetbagger Starbuck, Denies Carpetbagger Ortagus’ Request to Be Placed on TN-5 Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Deborah Fisher on the Likelihood of Robby Starbuck’s Inclusion on TN-5 GOP Ballot

Julie Carr

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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Tennessee Republican Party Files Appeal, Starbuck Ordered to Respond by 4 P.M. Tuesday

Aaron Gulbransen

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 Immediately Appealing Liberal Democrat Activist Judge’s Decision Reinstating Disqualified TN-5 Candidate

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Judge Says He’ll Issue Ruling Friday Regarding Disqualified TN-5 Candidate’s Motion to Get on Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Tennessee Republican Party Reports Record Number of GOP Candidates Running for Office

Aaron Gulbransen

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden, in a statement exclusively provided to The Tennessee Star, reports that 2022 saw a record number of GOP candidates qualifying to run for office in the state. 

“Red Wave ’22 is sweeping across the Nation and there are more Republicans than ever before running in Tennessee. We have more candidates for more offices in more counties than we have ever had in the history of Tennessee,” said Golden.

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Federal Judge Smacks Down Starbuck’s Request for Injunction to Be Placed Back on TN-5 Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen

“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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Federal Judge Takes Arguments Under Advisement, Appears Extremely Skeptical of Robby Starbuck’s Case to Get Back on TN-5 Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Hearing Scheduled for May 10 in TN-5 Disqualified Candidate’s ‘Hail Mary’ Lawsuit Against Tennessee Republican Party

Aaron Gulbransen

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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Candidates Must Have ‘Bona Fide Republican’ Status to Qualify for Tennessee GOP Ballot

Aaron Gulbransen
Tennessee State Capitol at night in winter

Election season is heating up in Tennessee. The midterm congressional elections occur this year and the release of the proposed new maps has led to even more discussion about potential candidates and district races in Tennessee.

In addition to satisfying the federal and state requirements to run for public office, candidates seeking the Republican nomination in Tennessee must satisfy the Tennessee GOP’s governing criteria in order to qualify for the nomination contest.

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Middle Tennessee Post Offices Hit By ‘Incredibly Rare’ Burglaries One Day Before Election

Chris Butler

One or more people broke in and vandalized six post offices in Middle Tennessee either Sunday night or early Monday morning, one day before an election where some people voted using absentee ballots.

Nathaniel Sims, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspector in Brentwood, told The Tennessee Star in an email Thursday that people don’t generally break into postal facilities.

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Tennessee GOP Votes to Affirm Eddie Mannis as House District 18 Primary Winner Potentially in Violation of State Law

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) in a meeting held via conference call Wednesday evening voted to affirm the August 6 results of the House District 18 primary that was won by Eddie Mannis, potentially in violation of state law.

The vote was 43 to 18 by the SEC, which functions as the State Primary Board (SPB) in a primary contest.

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State GOP to Take Up House District 18 Primary Challenge Wednesday, Votes to Charge Candidates a Fee to Run as a Republican

Laura Baigert

At Saturday’s meeting of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) State Executive Committee, the majority voted to charge candidates for certain offices a fee to run as a Republican and won’t take up the issue of the House District 18 primary challenge until Wednesday.

TRP Chairman Scott Golden told The Tennessee Star he wasn’t sure why some people thought that the challenge to the House District 18 primary results would be taken up at Saturday’s meeting and said it wasn’t “because it’s against the law.”

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Tennessee GOP Officials Receive Detailed Death Threats

Chris Butler

One or more anonymous people, apparently out of Knoxville, allegedly and recently mailed death threats to members of the Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee — at each of their home addresses.

Tennessee GOP spokeswoman Delaney Dickey told The Tennessee Star in an email Monday that party officials have encouraged members to contact their local enforcement agencies.

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Democrat Crossover Voting Prompts Contest to Tennessee Republican Party Over House District 18 Primary Results

Laura Baigert

One of the candidates from the House District 18 Republican primary has notified Chairman Scott Golden and State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) that they are contesting the results, because of crossover voting from Democrats.

A member of the SEC, who wished to remain unnamed until it was discussed with the chairman, provided The Tennessee Star with a copy of the emailed letter from House District 18 Republican primary candidate Gina Oster dated August 18.

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