Republican Andy Ogles beat Democrat Heidi Campbell in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, turning the district red for the first time in its recorded history and giving the GOP another seat in Congress.
Ogles, a far-right conservative and former mayor of Maury County, declared victory Tuesday night in front of his supporters in Columbia, which is now part of the 5th District.
“There’s a wave sweeping this country. And like I said, we want our country back, and tonight we took it,” Ogles said to a crowd of screaming supporters. “This should be a wake-up to the Biden administration that you’re not listening to the people of this country. We are sick and tired of your agenda. Fix the economy, make us energy independent, and shut down the daggone border.”
Ogles led a quiet campaign, focusing on inflation, immigration and President Joe Biden. He only agreed to interviews with a handful of mostly conservative media outlets during his campaign and refused to debate his opponent. He also received the support of former President Donald Trump.
Democrat Heidi Campbell raised more money than Ogles, but could not overcome low voter turnout and an unfavorable environment for Democrats nationally as concerns over inflation and public safety concerns dominated.
Campbell, who represents most of the outer ring of Davidson County in the Tennessee Senate, did not concede the race Tuesday night, but promised to continue serving in the legislature.
“I’m the senator for District 20. My door is always open to everyone,” she said. “And despite what your new congressman-elect says, we are not at war. We are in this together.”
Ogles will replace Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper, who announced he would not run for re-election after the Republican-led General Assembly changed the 5th District’s boundaries in January, splitting up Nashville’s reliably Democratic voting base.
The new 5th District contains South Nashville and stretches out into Wilson, Maury and Lewis counties. Tennessee Democrats and many Nashvillians called the maps blatant gerrymandering and an effort to undermine Black and brown voters — an accusation Republicans denied.
“It’s very aggressive gerrymandering. They were saying, ‘We’re not happy with seven seats out of nine in Tennessee. We’re going for eight out of nine,'” said Kent Syler, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University.
With Republican victories in Middle Tennessee’s District 6 by Rep. John Rose and District 7 by Rep. Mark Green, this is the first time Nashville will not have any Democratic representation in Congress.
The win puts Republicans closer to taking control of the U.S. House. Check NPR’s live House results ticker for the national numbers.
The win gives Republicans a pickup in Tennessee. They now control eight of state’s nine congressional seats in the state.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM