WASHINGTON — Primary voters in Tennessee head to the polls Thursday to pick candidates for the November elections, including a GOP nominee in a House district that Republicans are looking to flip.
Nine Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination in the state’s newly drawn 5th District, where Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper opted not to run for reelection. The contest has attracted $3 million in outside spending, federal disclosures show, with nearly $2.2 million of that focused on either supporting or opposing candidate Andy Ogles, a business owner.
The Club for Growth Action is backing the biggest-spending group in the primary, USA Freedom Fund, which has invested nearly $790,000 in support of Ogles. Another group, called the School Freedom Fund, has disclosed spending $165,000 supporting Ogles and another $700,000 opposing Army National Guard veteran Kurt Winstead and Beth Harwell, a former professor at Belmont University. Jeff Yass, a billionaire donor, has donated $15 million to the School Freedom Fund, FEC records show.
