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.
The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee restored 13 candidates to the ballot: one in the 9th Congressional District, 11 in various State House races.
Though the challenges to the Republican bona fide status of the three TN-5 candidates has gotten the most attention, there were challenges made to candidates in other U.S. House races, TNGOP State Executive Committee as well as the legislative and governor’s races.
The deadline for the TNGOP, as well as the TN Democrat Party, to notify the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office was noon on Thursday, April 21, which is the same deadline for ballot finalization.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee were permanently removed from the August 4 GOP primary ballot in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District by the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) on Wednesday, April 19.
All three had an opportunity to request that the SEC restore their names to the GOP primary ballot and present their case individually to members of the committee.
The 17-member committee of SEC denied those requests. Sources tell The Star that the appeals of Ortagus and Starbuck to be restored were overwhelmingly rejected in separate 13-to-3 votes. Baxter Lee’s request for restoration was rejected in a 10-to-6 vote.
Ortagus registered to vote in Tennessee in November of 2021 and has never voted in a Tennessee election.
Until April 19, Starbuck had not voted in any GOP primary in the state of Tennessee. The California native registered to vote in Tennessee in July 2019, but did not vote in either the March 2020 Tennessee GOP presidential preference primary or the August 2020 Tennessee GOP statewide office primary.
Baxter Lee voted in the 2020 Democrat presidential preference primary.
Starbuck has told the TNGOP that he will be suing them over the results of the vote. Team Ortagus is said to be evaluating their options.
The TNGOP’s ruling is on very strong legal ground and is protected by statute. Potential lawsuits are considered unlikely to survive summary judgement.
Read the letter:
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, and Parler.
[…] Subsequent to the April 19 vote that confirmed the disqualification of Starbuck, Ortagus, and Baxter Lee, and in accordance with state law, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden transmitted a letter to Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins on April 21 that Ortagus, Starbuck, and Baxter Lee were permanently removed from the August 4, 2022 Tennessee Republican primary ballot in the 5th Congressional District, as The Tennessee Star reported. […]
[…] The letter integrated a notification of the fleshy checklist of candidates in a diversity of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to revive to the ballot – a total of 13 – moreover to the fleshy checklist of candidates that the party voted to preserve, the Tennessee Enormous establish reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the total checklist of candidates in quite a lot of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to revive to the poll – a complete of 13 – in addition to the total checklist of candidates that the celebration voted to take away, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
In a democracy the people decide who may hold office not political parties. This is America not the USSR.
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]
[…] The letter included a notification of the full list of candidates in a variety of races that the Tennessee GOP voted to restore to the ballot – a total of 13 – as well as the full list of candidates that the party voted to remove, the Tennessee Star reports. […]