President Donald Trump quickly endorsed Republican Charlie Hatcher to become the next representative for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District after defeating his original endorsee, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), in the GOP primary.
Ogles’s loss on Thursday was the second GOP candidate whom Trump had endorsed to lose their primary race this week, after Amir Hassan lost the GOP primary for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District against Thomas J. Smith, a salsa mogul who had ended his campaign a month prior.
But Trump appeared unconcerned about his primary track record and instead suggested that Ogles faced long odds of winning Thursday’s election.
“Last night was another good night for Endorsements, 8-1, and the 1 was a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning, and was running against a Great ‘Trump’ Candidate, and former Agricultural Commissioner of Tennessee, named Charlie Hatcher,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “Good luck Charlie! Run tough and hard. You have my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Tennessee’s 5th District had been redrawn after the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and subsequently led Republicans in southern states to create new congressional maps. The redraw put Ogles in mostly new territory, retaining just about 20% of his old district.
TRUMP-BACKED ANDY OGLES LOSES GOP PRIMARY FOR TENNESSEE HOUSE SEAT
But Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, was also beset by a history of inflammatory remarks, including calling for a ban on immigration from mostly Muslim countries. “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” Ogles wrote in a social media post in March.
Hatcher, a former state agriculture commissioner, outraised Ogles and had the backing of Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) in addition to the backing of former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. He will face off against Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, a Democrat, in the general election.