In the aftermath of the Tennessee Republican Party’s removal of Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee from the TN-5 ballot, several news outlets, social media influencers, national political figures, and affected candidates have made misinformed claims.
The Tennessee Star provided a full step-by-step breakdown of the processes and events that led to Morgan Ortagus, Robby Starbuck, and Baxter Lee’s disqualification from the TN-5 race by the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) Select Executive Committee (SEC).
The mistaken remarks or published comments, which serve to confuse the general public about the removal process, fall into three categories: false claims that the TRP violated their own bylaws; false claims that the removal of candidates was intended to hurt President Trump; and false comparisons to foreign governments.
Misleading Claim 1: TRP violated or reinterpreted its own rules.
The New York-based Wall Street Journal published an op-ed titled, “The Tennessee GOP Empire Strikes Back” that says, “Republican Party bosses violate their own rules in barring a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump.”
The TRP bylaws, as previously detailed, are very clear in this: The Tennessee Republican Party has the right to determine to its satisfaction if a candidate is a bona fide Republican qualified to run in a primary or not. The state code reinforces that power.
The challenge process is a very commonly used tool by the Tennessee Republican Party and is applied to ensure that candidates running in Tennessee Republican primaries meet standards contained in its bylaws, which are empowered by the state code. The bylaws were adhered to, not changed or reinterpreted.
Misleading Claim 2: Removing Trump-endorsed carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)-endorsed carpetbagger Robby Starbuck constitutes a rejection of former President Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda, a rejection of his political leadership of the Republican Party, and his potential 2024 candidacy for the presidential nomination.
CNN and other liberal outlets have incorrectly labeled the committee vote as a blow against President Trump, simply because he endorsed Morgan Ortagus. “In a major blow to former President Donald Trump, the Tennessee Republican Party voted on Tuesday to boot three candidates from its primary ballot for the 5th Congressional District – including Trump-endorsed hopeful Morgan Ortagus.”
The left-leaning news outlets are focused on making the issue all about Donald Trump. Sources in the committee affirmed to The Star that the committee overwhelmingly supports President Trump. The vote to remove Ortagus, as well as Starbuck and Lee, was made because neither she nor the others met the established criteria.
The majority of the TRP SEC committee that removed Ortagus, Starbuck, and Baxter Lee reportedly were Trump delegates in either 2016 or 2020.
One source with knowledge of the SEC vote told The Star, “This was not a vote against President Trump or any other conservative that endorsed any of the candidates. This vote happened because Ortagus, Starbuck, and Lee didn’t adequately prepare themselves to meet TNGOP standards to run in the primary. Ortagus and Starbuck are blaming everyone but themselves.”
Misleading Claim 3: The Tennessee Republican Party’s actions are corrupt and similar to the acts of foreign dictators or illegal actions of American organizations.
Former Ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell, tweeted: “The State Department usually condemns the actions of elites who throw candidates off ballots.”
Robby Starbuck, in a series of tweets, compared the process to Cuba’s Communist election system. “In Cuba they have sham elections where the party decides which candidates are allowed to run. That’s what we have in Tennessee now thanks to the State Executive Committee. My family didn’t come from Cuba just to watch America become Cuba. Not without a fight. Freedom matters.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump Jr., and others have repeated versions of these factually unsupported statements.
As previously detailed by The Tennessee Star, the challenge process and the party bylaws have a long history in the Tennessee Republican Party and are established by the state code. The rules of the process were known far in advance of the vote.
Members of the TRP State Executive Committee, like members of Congress, the Tennessee Legislature, and other offices, are elected every four years by voters in Republican primaries in Tennessee.
Sources within the Tennessee Republican Party tell The Star that, while social media influencers and politicians have been quick to voice their displeasure, the local reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. They also say that the vast majority of the negative comments that the party has received are either anonymous or from unverifiable email addresses.
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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, Twitter, and Parler.
Photo “Morgan Ortagus” by Morgan Ortagus. Photo “Robby Starbuck” by Robby Starbuck.
