Firebrand conservative and Trump-endorsed incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) lost to former Tennessee Agricultural Commissioner Charlie Hatcher on Thursday in a closely watched primary election.
Ogles was defeated by Hatcher in Tennessee’s recently redrawn 5th Congressional District, which stretches from south of Nashville to parts of Memphis. Hatcher, endorsed by Republican Governor Bill Lee, won 53.2% of the vote to Ogle’s 46.8%.
Hatcher, who was agricultural commissioner from 2019 to 2025, emphasized his farming background in a significantly rural district. His campaign was boosted by the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a pro-solar energy PAC that dumped roughly $2 million into the race targeting Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
One of the top funders of the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition is Chris Larsen, a California billionaire who gave $5,444,975 to support the pro-Kamala Harris Future Forward PAC in 2024, Fox News reported.
“When you have a group spending roughly $2 million in a Republican primary, that tells you how much money they’re making off of government subsidies, and they’re upset that the government welfare has been taken away from them,” Ogles said.
Ads from the group did not focus on solar energy, but instead boosted Hatcher’s conservative credentials.
The House Freedom Caucus Fund, which ran ads in support of Ogles, decried the funding from the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition. The group said he lost because a group “bankrolled by leftwing California Democrats spent $2 million to raid the Republican Primary.”
The Invest In Tomorrow Coalition said it would “continue to punish members of either party who want to play politics with American jobs, energy security, and utility prices. The entire map is in play and we will take this fight across the country through November.”
The group also spent money opposing Rep. Chip Roy’s bid for Texas attorney general and Rep. Ralph Norman’s run for governor in South Carolina.
Ogles’ defeat is a rare loss for a Trump-endorsed candidate. The president held a tele-rally in support of Ogles last week, where he urged his supporters to “get out and vote for Andy Ogles. He’s been a friend of mine.”
Hatcher, who bills himself as pro-gun, pro-life, and pro-Trump, will take on Democrat candidate Chaz Molder, the mayor of Columbia, Tennessee. The district is expected to be a win for Republicans in the general election as it went for Trump by double digits in 2024.