House conservative who’s twice moved to impeach Vice President Harris faces competitive GOP primary
Fox News
A conservative congressman who has twice filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris is grabbing national attention as Tennessee holds primary elections on Thursday.
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and a vocal critic of President Biden’s administration, is facing a primary challenge from Nashville councilwoman Courtney Johnston as he seeks a second term representing Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
After filing articles of impeachment against both the president and Harris last year, Ogles filed impeachment articles against the vice president a second time after she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ national ticket.
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Ogles faced several controversies two years ago, as he came out on top in a crowded nine-candidate Republican primary in the redrawn 5th District, which includes southern parts of Nashville and surrounding suburbs and rural areas.
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While they’re similar in supporting conservative policies, Johnston is taking aim at Ogles as a “do-nothing grandstander” who she argues is “mired in scandals.”
But Ogles enjoys the support of former President Trump, the party’s 2024 Republican presidential nominee, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Bill Hagerty.
Johnston has the backing of many establishment Republicans, including former Sens. Bill Frist and Bob Corker, and former Gov. Bill Haslam.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Maryam Abolfazli in November’s general election.
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a former House member who’s seeking a second six-year term in the Senate, is the clear favorite as she faces a GOP primary challenge from Tres Wittum, a former state Senate policy analyst who came in last in the 5th Congressional District primary two years ago that was won by Ogles.
There’s a crowded primary field for the Democratic Senate nomination.
There are also primaries for seats in the state Senate and House, where Republicans hold super majorities in the red-dominated state.