A key congressional primary race will serve as a test of President Donald Trump's political weight on Thursday night.Voters in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District are headed to the polls to decide between Trump-backed Rep.Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Republican Charlie Hatcher, the former state agriculture commissioner, who scored an 11th-hour endorsement from Gov.
Bill Lee on Tuesday evening.Ogles, one of Trump's most vocal allies in Congress, is seeking a third term representing the Middle Tennessee district, which includes part of the Nashville suburbs.Hatcher is the state's former Agriculture commissioner under Lee, and served as Tennessee State Veterinarian before that under both Democrat and Republican administrations."I'm not really surprised at all.
You know, they're friends," Ogles said of Lee endorsing his rival.GOP GOVERNOR ENDORSES CANDIDATE CHALLENGING TRUMP-BACKED CONGRESSMAN IN REPUBLICAN US HOUSE PRIMARYPresident Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland on July 31, 2026.(Aaron Schwartz/AFP via Getty Images)He argued that his endorsements, including Trump and House GOP leaders, prove that he's the more conservative choice in the race."The golden endorsement that anyone wants is that of President Trump's, which I have.
And I think Trump has really done a good job of making sure that he's choosing conservatives in races, which is also why I have the endorsement of [House Speaker] Mike Johnson, you know, conservative stalwart.[House Judiciary Committee Chair] Jim Jordan has endorsed me," Ogles said."And so you just go down the list of my endorsements, it's that of the conservatives, whereas my opponent has less conservative folks, shall we say, endorsing him."TOP TRUMP ALLY WARNS SUPER PAC BANKROLLED BY DEM BILLIONAIRE IS MEDDLING IN GOP PRIMARYAnd having Trump's backing is not a small edge in deep red Tennessee, which Trump won by double digits in 2024.
He bested Vice President Kamala Harris by roughly 18 points in Tenne...