Retired Brig. General Kurt Winstead announced key personnel additions to his campaign for the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
The Winstead campaign announced that Chris Devaney, campaign manager for Governor Bill Lee’s 2018 campaign, will serve as senior advisor to the campaign. Kim Kaegi, a veteran of numerous successful campaigns across Tennessee, will work as the campaign finance consultant. Jimmy Granbery will act as the campaign finance chairman. Granbery is currently the chairman of the H.G. Hill Company and CEO of H.G. Hill Realty Company.
In addition to managing Governor Lee’s successful 2018 campaign for governor, Devaney is a former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman and has served in senior roles on many winning campaigns in Tennessee.
Kaegi has nearly three decades of Tennessee fundraising experience. She’s worked on numerous races, including Lee, Gov. Bill Haslam, and Senator Bill Hagerty’s campaigns. She also worked on several campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives. Her client list includes current incumbent Republican U.S. House members David Kustoff (R-TN-08), and Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), as well as former U.S. House Representatives Stephen Fincher, Phil Roe, and Diane Black.
Devaney and Kaegi both worked together on Fred Thompson’s 1994 U.S. Senate campaign.
Granbery says General Winstead has “the kind of background and Tennessee values we need in Congress.” He added, “As a lifelong Tennessean, I want our next congressman to truly represent Middle Tennessee. I’m proud to support a conservative leader like Kurt Winstead.
“Our campaign is building momentum across the 5th district every day. I’m so grateful for the team we are putting together to achieve victory on Election Day,” said General Winstead in a press release.
The press release describes Winstead as “an eighth-generation Tennessean [who] was raised in a home of educators and farmers. He served for more than 30 years in the Tennessee Army National Guard, including Director of the Joint Staff, Tennessee’s Staff Judge Advocate, and Brigade Command Judge Advocate during Operation Iraqi Freedom III.”
Previously reported, Winstead’s campaign provided The Tennessee Star with documents that show he voted in three of the past four Republican statewide primaries in Tennessee.
Other candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the Tennessee 5th Congressional District Republican primary are former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell, California native and music video director Robby Starbuck, recent Tennessee resident and former State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus, businessman Baxter Lee, and Natisha Brooks. Several others are collecting qualifying petitions for the race.
Sources tell The Star that Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles is planning to enter the 5th Congressional District race. Tennessee state Senate staffer Tres Wittum is considering whether or not to run.
The Republican primary for TN-5 will take place on August 4.
The 5th District contains parts of Davidson County, Wilson County, Williamson County, and all of Marshall, Maury, and Lewis counties.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Kurt Winstead” by Rudy, Winstead, and Turner.
