Former Trump administration State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus made a dubious claim about why President Trump endorsed her in a national publication.
Ortagus recently sat down with the Jewish News Syndicate, headquartered in Massachusetts, to discuss her candidacy for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district seat.
Ortagus was asked where she fits into the Republican political landscape in Tennessee. She responded by saying that there are a lot of strong conservatives in Middle Tennessee and TN-5, and that President Trump took a look at the field and thought she was the strongest “America First” candidate.
We have so many great people in Middle Tennessee and Tennessee’s 5th district. Really strong pro-life conservatives, people who really stand strong with President Trump, and I think that’s why Trump endorsed me. Because he looked at the field and thought that I would be the strongest person to carry the “America First” agenda forward in Congress in to hold President [Joe] Biden and [Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi accountable.
As of this writing, there is no evidence that President Trump has examined the existing or potential field in the GOP primary for TN-5, except to say on Newsmax that he didn’t know Robby Starbuck and that he heard he voted for Obama.
CNN reported in June of 2021, that Ivanka Trump is close friends with Morgan Ortagus, and that she and her husband Jared Kushner paid a visit to Ortagus in Nashville. It would not be unheard of for Ivanka and Kushner to weigh in on President Trump’s endorsements, perhaps focusing solely on friendship and cavalierly not giving much thought to how Middle Tennesseans would react to an endorsement of a newcomer to the region in this situation, if either or both did indeed weigh in.
Elsewhere in the interview Ortagus cited her membership in Sherith Israel, an Orthodox Jewish temple located in Nashville, moving to Tennessee because she wants a better life for her child, and her foreign policy experience as reasons she can handle local issues and best represent Tennessee’s 5th district in the U.S. House of Representatives but she declined in her comments to address how she specifically plans to connect to Middle Tennessee, having moved there only months ago and also did not address what specifically makes her the strongest “America First” candidate for TN-5.
The Tennessee Star previously reported Ortagus’ busy first week as a candidate, having made national media appearances on Fox and Friends, Spicer & Co., Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, and Townhall.com contributor Gabriella Hoffman’s podcast.
In addition to President Trump, Ortagus has been endorsed by U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, who recently came under fire for his harsh words about the House Freedom Caucus. Her one known local endorsement is from former TN-5 candidate Quincy McKnight, who dropped out of the GOP primary and is now running for mayor of Metro Nashville.
President Trump previously endorsed Governor Lee for re-election, despite, as previously reported by The Star, his betrayal of MAGA principles by continuing the resettlement of refugees to Tennessee in 2019.
Ortagus does not currently live in the 5th Congressional District as the new lines have her current address in the 7th Congressional District. Her address was previously in the old TN-5, prior to redistricting. Ortagus only registered to vote in Tennessee in late November of 2021. A Florida native, Ortagus lived in New York and Washington, D.C. prior to moving to Tennessee. The Star has reached out to the Ortagus campaign for comment on her voting and residency history, but all requests thus far have been ignored.
Ortagus is not the only newcomer to Tennessee in the TN-5 GOP primary. California native Robby Starbuck registered to vote in Tennessee in 2019 and has claimed that he was not a full-time resident until after the August 2020 Tennessee Republican primary.
Other contenders in the GOP primary are former Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, businessman Baxter Lee, and Natisha Brooks. Former Williamson County GOP chair Omar Hamada is collecting petitions and is weighing whether to officially get in the race. Geni Bachelor and Annabelle Lee are also reported to be collecting petitions.
Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles and former Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell are considering entry into the race as well. Ogles has a reputation in Tennessee for being a conservative fighter who refused to institute mask mandates in Maury County. Beth Harwell was the first woman Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and twice received the National Federation of Independent Business’ Guardian of Small Business Award during her tenure in the State House.
Mayor Ogles is a Tennessee native who has lived in the state all of his life. Both Winstead and Harwell have been Tennessee residents for more than three decades. Baxter Lee is also a Tennessee native, having grown up in Knoxville. His website says that he is an “8th generation Tennessean”.
The new 5th Congressional District contains parts of Davidson, parts of Wilson, parts of Williamson, all of Marshall, Maury, and Lewis counties.
– – –
Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
