Turns out having a presidential endorsement is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine these days. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee just got booted out of his own Republican primary, as Conservative Brief reported, proving that even the golden stamp of approval from Donald Trump cannot save you when your own party decides you are the problem.
Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher walloped Ogles after racking up endorsements from establishment heavyweights like Governor Bill Lee, former Governor Bill Haslam, and Sonny Perdue, who served as U.S. Agriculture Secretary during Trump's first go around in the White House. That is quite the lineup of people basically saying, "Yeah, we will take the other guy."
Here is the beautiful irony. Ogles somehow managed to raise less cash AND spend more of it than Hatcher. That is an impressively terrible financial strategy, like buying a yacht when you cannot afford a kayak. A clean energy political group bankrolled a bunch of advertising in the race, which Ogles complained about to Fox News, calling it a late blitz. Nothing says "I lost fair and square" like blaming the commercials.
Ogles' congressional career was, shall we say, colorful. He caught heat for suggesting Muslims do not belong in America, deleted a homophobic social media post and blamed it on a staffer (the classic "my intern did it" defense), and called for stripping citizenship from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and deporting him. He was also the subject of a campaign finance investigation, though no charges materialized. The Justice Department did seize his phone and eventually gave it back, which is the governmental equivalent of your mom going through your browser history.
Meanwhile, Hatcher played things brilliantly by hugging Trump's agenda while simultaneously running against Trump's actual endorsed candidate. His website even features a quote that basically says Ogles talks too much and accomplishes nothing. Subtle as a freight train, and apparently very effective.
Ogles now holds the distinction of being the ninth House incumbent to get bounced in a primary this cycle, joining six Democrats and three Republicans. According to Vital Statistics on Congress, that is the most sitting House members defeated in primaries during a non-redistricting year since 1970. Senators Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn also lost their primaries, and Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas finished second before just quitting altogether. It is an absolute bloodbath out there for incumbents.
Speaking of the future, Trump has apparently started whispering about his preferred successor. According to the Washington Post, he told donors in an Oval Office meeting, "At the end of the day, we need to elect JD," referring to Vice President Vance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's name keeps popping up too, but the New York Post cautioned that nobody should read too much into these comments. Which of course means everyone will read way too much into them.
Hatcher is considered a heavy favorite in the general election because the district is overwhelmingly Republican. So congratulations to Charlie Hatcher, who proved that sometimes the best strategy is just letting the other guy self destruct while you stand there looking reasonable.
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