Former President Donald Trump made his preference known for the Republican nomination in a new Tennessee House district before the prospective candidate even declared for the seat. Now, the Nashville-based district could be a test of Trump as kingmaker in Republican politics.
After Tennessee Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper announced Tuesday he would retire at the end of this term, Trump touted a run to replace him by former State Department spokeswoman and Fox News personality Morgan Ortagus. Though Ortagus has not announced her candidacy there, several establishment Republicans are eyeing the seat.
Recommended Stories
REP. JIM COOPER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT, CITING GOP TENNESSEE REDISTRICTING PLAN
“I am told the very strong and impressive Morgan Ortagus is exploring a run for Congress in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District. I couldn’t be happier because she’s an absolute warrior for America First and MAGA!” Trump said.
Ortagus thanked Trump on Twitter, a platform on which he remains suspended, for the endorsement, but she has not declared her candidacy.
The Nashville-based district Cooper has represented for nearly 20 years (plus a 1983-95 House stint in a more rural area), is being dramatically redrawn to benefit Republicans. Nashville, a liberal-leaning bastion full of state government workers in Tennessee’s capital and students and academics at Vanderbilt University, is being split into three different districts. The intended result is to turn Tennessee’s current House delegation of seven Republicans to two Democrats to eight GOP lawmakers and just a single Democratic one.
Trump’s move to anoint Ortagus irked even some of his supporters. They contend he should have supported music video producer Robby Starbuck, who launched a bid for the seat last year and has sought to align himself closely with Trump.
Former Tennessee state House Speaker Beth Harwell is also reportedly mulling a bid for the Republican nomination, as are Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles and attorney Kurt Winstead. A House bid by Harwell, a former state Republican Party chairwoman, would be “formidable” in the race, said John Geer, a Vanderbilt University political scientist and a co-director of its poll.
Even though, Geer said, the newly configured 5th Congressional District is not a slam dunk for Republicans. Had Cooper chosen to run, Geer said, “He might have been able to win.”
DEMOCRATS PUSH BIDEN TO HONOR PLEDGE FOR BLACK, FEMALE SUPREME COURT PICK
“He has name recognition, and people respect him and, and he’s you know, not an AOC-type Democrat,” Geer said, adding that unless a prominent Democrat enters the race, “the battle now is likely going to turn to the Republican primary to see who gets the nomination and therefore has an edge in the general election come this November.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Democrats running to succeed Cooper will likely include community activist Odessa Kelly. Before it became clear state Republicans would dismantle the 5th Congressional District to divide up its Nashville base, Kelly had already launched a primary bid against Cooper from the left.
Kelly indicated in a social media post she plans to continue the race. But other candidates may also enter the race ahead of the April filing deadline.
