A super PAC connected to Kurt Winstead’s campaign for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat launched an attack ad Friday against one of his opponents, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles.
A TV ad that is paid for and authorized by the Tennessee Conservatives PAC hit the Nashville airwaves on Friday.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that the Tennessee Conservatives PAC spent at least $100,000 for radio ads supporting now-disqualified TN-5 candidate Morgan Ortagus in April.
After her disqualification, Ortagus endorsed Kurt Winstead in the TN-5 race and joined his national security advisory committee as a co-chair.
A political consultant with knowledge of the TN-5 race and how super PACs operate told The Star, “It is highly likely that the Tennessee Conservatives PAC switched, at least in part, from being a Pro-Ortagus PAC after her disqualification to rooting for Winstead given the Ortagus endorsement of the retired National Guard general. One of the best ways, in my opinion, to help Winstead is to hurt Ogles.”
“Winstead is taking fire for his Democrat voter and donation history and one of the best ways for a friendly entity to distract from that is to whack on Ogles,” the consultant explained.
The Star additionally reported in mid-April that Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison donated $1 Million to the Tennessee Conservatives PAC.
Like Winstead, Ellison’s donation history includes contributions include U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), U.S. House member and Trump impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s PAC, former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the New Hampshire Democratic State Committee, and the Democrat National Committee.
The attack ad on Ogles starts with a female voice that says, “Andy Ogles failed to pay his property taxes nine times.”
A male voice then dramatically repeats the phrase, “Nine times.”
The female voice then states, “That’s right, Andy Ogles failed to pay his property taxes nine times, but as county mayor Ogles supported increasing the sales tax, didn’t oppose a property tax hike, or a marriage tax.”
The female voice continues, repeating the first message: “Andy Ogles failed to pay his property taxes nine times.”
The male voice again repeats, “Nine times.”
The female voice adds, “Andy Ogles didn’t pay his taxes, but supported raising yours. Tennessee Conservatives PAC is responsible for the content of this ad.”
The Star reached out to the Ogles campaign for comment on the ad. The Ogles campaign said that a response would be forthcoming in the near future.
Early voting in the August 4 Republican primary started on Friday and runs through July 30.
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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, Truth Social, and Parler.
