By The Washington Times (Politics) | Created at 2026-08-07 18:11:04 | Updated at 2026-08-07 19:59:50
3 hours ago
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, a Trump-endorsed conservative, was swamped in Thursday’s GOP primary.
The man who upset him was Charlie Hatcher, a former Tennessee agriculture commissioner, who won 53.2% to 46.8% with over 95% of the vote counted Friday morning.
“Nobody likes to lose, but the results are in,” Mr. Ogles said in his concession speech. “I called Charlie and congratulated him.”
Mr. Ogles, facing a steep funding disadvantage, had participated in telephone rallies with President Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, both of whom urged voters to keep him in office.
The Freedom Caucus Fund, a group that supports members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said it spent $750,000 as of late July in trying to defend Mr. Ogles.
Mr. Hatcher benefited from spending by the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a pro-green-energy PAC running ads in his favor.
“Ogles lost last night because a Super Pac bankrolled by leftwing California Democrats spent $2 million to raid the Republican primary,” Allison Weisenberger of the Freedom Caucus Fund told The Washington Times in an email.
“Their goal is to destroy President Trump’s America First Majority in Congress, install Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker and reinstate Biden’s Green New Scam that President Trump and the House Freedom Caucus eliminated in the Big Beautiful Bill,” she added.
Mr. Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, was among the Republicans who pushed for the elimination of green energy subsidies in a July 2025 party-line budget bill.
In response to Ms. Weisenberger, Thomas Matzzie, chairman of Invest in Tomorrow, emailed The Times, “It’s gratifying to see the Freedom Caucus throwing a temper tantrum after we exposed that they can’t protect their members, but our mission is not partisan.”
“We are proud to help members of Congress, regardless of party, who recognize the irreplaceable role renewable energy plays in generating the future of American energy,” Mr. Matzzie said. “We are equally proud to punish those, regardless of party, who do not. Andy Ogles preferred to spend 3 years playing games for the cameras instead of delivering for his district and his country, and he suffered the consequences.”
Earlier this year, Invest in Tomorrow ran ads against Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who was running for attorney general and had led the charge against green energy subsidies. He lost the primary.
Invest in Tomorrow ran ads calling Mr. Hatcher an “America First conservative” and accusing Mr. Ogles of having fabricated elements of his resume, pointing to his claims to have been an “economist” and a law enforcement officer who fought human trafficking.
The group celebrated the fall of another foe of the green energy lobby.
“This is our second upset in as many primaries — first Chip Roy, now Andy Ogles — and we will continue to punish members of either party who want to play politics with American jobs, energy security, and utility prices,” Tom Matzzie, the group’s chairman, said in a statement.
Mr. Hatcher, although supported by green energy interests, described himself as “pro-gun,” “pro-life” and “pro-Trump” on his website.
Due to redistricting, Mr. Ogles, who had represented the Nashville area since 2023, was forced to compete for votes in a redrawn district that stretches to Memphis.
In an interview after winning the primary, Mr. Hatcher told Nashville’s WSMV that he benefited from a solid relationship with farmers in the redrawn district.
“A lot of people didn’t know Andy Ogles or me in West Tennessee,” he said, “but if they were in the [agriculture] community, they knew Charlie. And that helped me.”
Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, citing his experience working with Mr. Hatcher, endorsed him two days before the primary.
The district is rated solid Republican by the Cook Political Report, meaning Mr. Hatcher will be a favorite in November against Democratic nominee Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Hatcher, who urged voters to “hire a farmer” to represent them in Congress, promised a different style than the incumbent’s.
“I consider myself a workhorse, and my opponent is a show horse,” Hatcher told Nashville’s WTVF in June.
Mr. Ogles went viral with explosive statements, such as calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s denaturalization and deportation and saying “homosexuality has no place in America.”
Mr. Hatcher told WTVF that he disagreed with Mr. Ogles’ post on homosexuality: “I think Speaker Johnson said it best when he quoted Scripture. He said the Bible says, ’Love your neighbor.’”
Mr. Ogles deleted that social media post, saying “a member of [his] comms team” posted it and disavowing it as “stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus.”
Mr. Trump said in a social media post Friday that Mr. Ogles “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.”
The president wished Mr. Hatcher “good luck” and endorsed him for the general election.
