Rep. Andy Ogles lost his Republican primary Thursday night to Charlie Hatcher, a former dairy farmer and Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner, in a result that analysts called a “public humiliation” for Trump, who personally endorsed Ogles, held a tele-rally for him, and posted on Truth Social that he was “a terrific guy” the day before the vote. After the loss, Ogles called the PAC that helped defeat him “some libtard in California.” The PAC’s chair said: “The entire map is in play and we will take this fight across the country through November.”
The PAC in question is the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, backed by solar energy executives including CleanChoice Energy CEO Tom Matzzie. It spent $2 million opposing Ogles, more than both candidates combined. Its ads never mentioned clean energy. Not once. They attacked Ogles on other grounds entirely, including his false campaign biography claims, his Ethics Committee investigation, and his social media posts. Ogles had posted in June that “homosexuality has no place in America” and blamed a staffer. He had posted in March that Muslims “don’t belong in American society” and blamed a staffer. The PAC ran ads about these and other Ogles controversies. The word “solar” did not appear. Ogles lost anyway, and called the PAC’s backer a “libtard”, which is the word he chose when describing the person whose $2 million defeated him.
Ogles is the third Republican targeted by the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition to lose this year. The first was Texas Rep. Chip Roy in his attorney general bid. The second was South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman in his governor’s race. All three had pushed congressional leaders to rapidly phase out renewable energy incentives. The PAC’s method, per Politico’s reporting confirmed by Raw Story, is to spend money attacking incumbents on unrelated vulnerabilities rather than on energy policy, which is the strategy that works when the candidates have enough unrelated vulnerabilities to fill $2 million in advertising.
Hatcher had outraised Ogles, spent no money on television, focused on mailers and canvassing, and won. “Ogles’ loss to Charlie Hatcher is a major upset,” wrote MSNOW analyst Carla Herreria. “Voters in Tennessee dealt President Trump a blow,” wrote The Hill’s Caroline Vakil. Ogles had called himself a target of “left-wing liberals from California.” He was correct. They beat him. He is now a former congressman.
Trump backed him. The dairy farmer won. The solar PAC never mentioned solar.
When a $2 million solar PAC defeats a Trump-backed anti-solar congressman without mentioning solar once, what exactly was the race about?
Sources
Raw Story: ‘Trump took a major hit’: MAGA lawmakers’ defeat called public ‘humiliation’ for president
Raw Story: Embattled MAGA candidate loses key Tennessee primary race
Raw Story: Trump’s windmill enemies seek revenge and claim another MAGA upset
