U.S. Rep Andy Ogles lost to a Republican primary challenger in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on Aug. 6, marking the second time this week – and this primary season – that a Trump-backed congressional candidate lost.
Charlie Hatcher, the Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture from 2018-2025, will head to the general election, according projections by NBC News and Fox News.
“Nobody likes to lose, but the results are in and, look, we’ve fought a great race,” Ogles told supporters at a restaurant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. “It has been an absolute honor to serve Tennessee as a member of Congress, and I look forward to helping Charlie as he transitions and then helping any of you throughout the remainder of my term,” Ogles said.
Hatcher pledged to bring a farmer’s work ethic to Washington if he wins November. He’ll face Chaz Molder, the longtime mayor of Columbia, Tennessee and a well-funded Democrat, in the general election.
“So apparently, hire a farmer resonated with the constituents of the 5th District,” Hatcher told supporters in Franklin, Tennessee. “I’m going to carry that work ethic, that ability to get the job done, to solve problems as veterinarians or farmers do every day, and to serve others.”
In May, the Republican-led state legislature passed a new congressional map that carved the last remaining Democratic-held congressional seat in the state into three GOP-leaning districts.
The 9th Congressional District once included all of Memphis, one of the largest majority Black cities in the nation. But the district now stretches from Memphis about two hundred miles to the suburbs of Nashville. Same for the newly drawn 5th Congressional District.
The 5th still leans red, but Ogles, known for his diehard support of President Donald Trump and for a series of controversial statements, did not succeed in defending his seat.
In June, Ogles drew backlash from Democratic and Republican colleagues in Congress for a now-deleted post where he said, “homosexuality has no place in America.” In March, he also drew media attention for a post stating “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” although other Republicans in Congress expressed similar anti-Islamic sentiments that same week.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee endorsed Hatcher on Aug. 4, two days before the primary, serving a blow to Ogles that may have ultimately cost him his bid for reelection. Hatcher served in Lee’s administration as agriculture commissioner, and Lee said the two have been friends for over 25 years.
Trump continued to advocate for Ogles through the day of the primary, posting on Truth Social that Ogles is “a Conservative Warrior who has strong support from his Community.”
Before this week, Trump’s endorsement record was perfect this primary season for congressional candidates, although Trump-backed candidates had lost in primaries for state legislature and governor races.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, Trump-backed Navy Veteran Amir Hassan lost the Republican bid for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District to a candidate who dropped out of the race after the ballots were printed. Thomas Smith, who suspended his campaign in July, won nearly half of the vote, while Hassan brought in closer to 30%.
Trump took to Truth Social on Aug. 5, defending his endorsement record, despite the loss.
“I was 28-1 last night on Endorsements, and numerous of them were outliers, but if you studied the Fake News, you would think it was just the opposite, 1-28,” Trump wrote. “All they talked about was the one, and that’s why they call it the FAKE NEWS!”
A redistricting win for Republicans
Meanwhile, the new 9th also favors a Republican to win in the general election, and Trump endorsed state Sen. Brent Taylor for the Republican nomination. Taylor defeated two other Republicans in the primary, the Associated Press and NBC News projected.
On the Democratic side, incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen opted not to seek reelection after redistricting, and two popular Democratic members of the state legislature – Rep. Justin Pearson and Sen. London Lamar – squared off in the party’s primary that included two other less-known candidates.
Pearson ultimately pulled off a win against Lamar, who has held various offices since 2018 and is known for being the youngest female and African American in the history of the state Senate, the Associated Press and NBC News projected.
Pearson drew national attention following a deadly school shooting in 2023 when Republicans expelled him from the state House for leading a gun-control protest on the House floor as a member of the so-called “Tennessee Three.” He quickly returned to office in a special election.
In Tennessee’s other open congressional seat, state Rep. Johnny Garrett defeated former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary to win the GOP nomination in the 6th Congressional District, the AP and NBC News projected. U.S. Rep. John Rose gave up the seat to run for governor. He lost to U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Repeating the Hagerty-Bradshaw 2020 Senate matchup
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty ran unopposed in the Republican primary for his current seat, and his familiar 2020 opponent for Senate, Democrat Marquita Bradshaw is projected to head to the general election, according to the Associated Press and NBC News.
Bradshaw won against Democratic challengers Civil Miller-Watkins and Maria Brewer, but Hagerty is likely to keep his seat, as the state has not had a Democratic senator since 1995. In 2020, Hagerty beat Bradshaw for his current Senate seat by 27 percentage points.
Blackburn’s seat is not up for reelection, as she won reelection to the six-year-Senate post in 2024. If she wins the gubernational race in November, she will have to step down from the Senate, and as governor, she could potentially appoint her own replacement. All of that would depend on the timing of when she would formally step down.
Contributing: Rachel Wegner and Safa Wahidi, The Tennessean