The Tennessee Star reached out to Secretary Pompeo’s team for comment on his endorsement of Ortagus, and Secretary Pompeo’s team dodged the issue of her recent immigration to Tennessee.
1 – In endorsing Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, did Secretary Pompeo consider Ortagus’ extremely recent ties to Tennessee?
Background: Ortagus has been registered to vote in TN for less than 3 months.2 – Did Secretary Pompeo consider that she may not be eligible to compete in the GOP primary due to her recent move to TN and pending legislation at the TN General Assembly?
Pompeo’s press office for his CAV-PAC replied, “Our quote in the endorsement release stands on its own.”
In a tweet endorsing Morgan Ortagus for TN-5, Pompeo said in a graphic:
In Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, I can’t think of a stronger candidate than Morgan Ortagus. Morgan played a critical role in our administration’s efforts to put America first and to restore American greatness to our foreign policy. She has served her country honorably in the executive branch and in our military, and I know she’ll continue to champion the American values we share in Congress.
Pompeo was Ortagus’ boss at the State Department during her tenure there. Ortagus worked under Pompeo from 2019 to 2021. Pompeo served as Secretary of State under President Trump from 2018 to 2021. Prior to serving as U.S. Secretary of State, Pompeo was director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018.
The Star previously reported that Ortagus has only recently moved to Tennessee and registered to vote in the state less than three months ago. Ortagus has not yet had the opportunity to vote in a Tennessee election.
There is pending legislation before Tennessee’s General Assembly, sponsored by State Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains), that could keep Ortagus, as well as music video director Robby Starbuck, off the ballot if it is passed into law with an effective date before August’s Republican primaries. That legislation establishes a three-year residency requirement for candidates running in a primary.
On the subject of that legislation, Ortagus has told The Star, “I’ll leave state matters to the state legislature. I’m focused on earning the support of 5th-district Tennesseans who want a conservative fighter to defend President Trump’s agenda.”
The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office told The Star that the deadline to finalize ballots for the August 4, 2022 primaries is April 21, 2022. When asked if pending legislation could change that, the Secretary of State’s office replied, “If legislation changes the eligibility of a candidate on a ballot. The ballot will be amended before the election to be in accordance to the law.”
Ortagus, Starbuck, businessman Baxter Lee, former Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, and Natisha Brooks are the publicly known candidates in the Republican primary for Tennesse’s 5th Congressional District. Six other individuals are collecting petitions as part of the Tennessee qualifying process to run for U.S. House.
Former Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell may be nearing a decision to enter the race and Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles is also considering entry.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mike Pompeo” by United States Department of State. Photo “Morgan Ortagus” by Morgan Ortagus. Background Photo “Tennessee State Capitol” by Andre Porter. CC BY-SA 3.0.
