Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston (District 26) said in remarks published Monday she is considering launching a primary campaign against Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Johnston, who has served on the Metro Council since she ousted incumbent Councilmember Jeremy Elrod in the 2019 elections, though she did not face a challenger in 2023.
“The people of Middle Tennessee deserve better than Andy Ogles,” Johnston told Axios before adding, “We need a tested conservative leader who can deliver and not just talk. I am taking a very close look at the district and am talking to voters. If I run, I intend to win.”
Johnston suggested to Nashville Scene in 2023 that she is able to eschew partisan fights on the Metro Council due to her preference for “good policy.”
“A lot of my colleagues are further left-leaning, but we agree more often than not because good policy is good policy,” she told the outlet.
Johnston explained, “I’m not out here fighting abortion or LGBT anything, like some conservative-leaning groups want me to and have pressured me to do. That’s not what I’m here to do. But we can all agree on fiscal responsibility.”
She found another area of agreement with her Metro Nashville colleagues in March 2022, when the council passed a resolution she sponsored to express support for the people of Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion.
The potential for Johnston to enter the race comes as Ogles has already received a number of high profile endorsements for his reelection, including the early support from former President Donald Trump, who endorsed the congressman for another term in May 2023.
Trump called Ogles “fantastic” and noted that Ogles endorsed his 2020 presidential bid. After that endorsement, Trump wrote, “I was proud to help Andy flip a Democrat seat in 2022, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement for re-election. He will not let you down!”
More recently, Ogles was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), which called him “one of the top defenders of liberty in the House.”
“An unwavering voice for freedom and smaller government, he scored a 95 on our Liberty Index during his first year in Congress,” the group wrote in its endorsement. RLC previously recognized Ogles among its Top Defenders of Liberty in 2023.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Courtney Johnston” by Courtney Johnston. Photo “Congressman Andy Ogles” by Congressman Andy Ogles.
