Councilmember Courtney Johnston at Whitfield Park in South Nashville
This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and the Nashville Scene. The Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. For more information, visit NashvilleBanner.com.
Sometimes, when a congressional seat opens for the first time in decades, the competitive scramble to fill it precedes only another long stretch of entrenched incumbency.
That has not been the case so far in GOP U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ 5th Congressional District, which formerly comprised all of Nashville and was represented for years by Democrat Jim Cooper. Ahead of the 2022 elections, Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature split the seat across several counties, including Williamson and Maury, while keeping parts of Nashville in the district, which now favors Republicans. That move set off a frantic race for the GOP nomination, won by Ogles after Republican officials excluded multiple prominent candidates.
But not all Republicans are willing to sit back and watch Ogles, the former mayor of Maury County and an anti-tax advocate, hold the seat forever. His exaggerated résumé, behavior in Congress and response to the Covenant School shooting are among the reasons cited by some for continuing to oppose the incumbent. Still, party leaders like U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty and former President Donald Trump have stuck with Ogles.
Among Nashville-area Republicans disaffected by Ogles’ tenure as one of the city’s representatives in Washington, several political realities have emerged. Many believe the best chance to unseat Ogles is for a single opponent to face him in the primary to avoid splitting up the more moderate vote. They also say the race could get dirty, with a non-Ogles candidate forced to attack the incumbent while also taking incoming fire. And what’s the prize at the end of the rainbow? A stint in a “dysfunctional” Congress from which members continue to flee.
One potential primary challenger to Ogles is Courtney Johnston, Metro councilmember for Nashville’s District 26, including the Nashville Zoo and Crieve Hall.
“The people of Middle Tennessee deserve better than Andy Ogles,” Johnston tells the Nashville Banner. “We need a tested conservative leader who can deliver and not just talk. I am taking a very close look at the district and am talking to voters. If I run, I intend to win.”
Johnston has been a reliable fundraiser, having brought in more than $50,000 for a 2023 reelection that ultimately was uncontested. On the council, Johnston has been a conservative voice who has at times sought to avoid overly partisan conflicts.
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“A lot of my colleagues are further left-leaning, but we agree more often than not because good policy is good policy,” Johnston told the Scene last year. “I’m not out here fighting abortion or LGBT anything, like some conservative-leaning groups want me to and have pressured me to do. That’s not what I’m here to do. But we can all agree on fiscal responsibility.”
The ballot qualifying deadline is April 4, and Johnston is not the only Republican looking at the race.
Others Weighing, Have Considered a Run
Baxter Lee, a local businessman who comes from a prominent Knoxville family, likely is being kept off the ballot for a second cycle in a row after the Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee voted to fast-track a new, stricter bona fide standard for GOP candidates in the state. Lee, who could not be reached for comment, has said he voted in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary at the advice of prominent Republicans in order to create a better matchup for Republican Donald Trump. According to Davidson County voting records, Johnston consistently has voted in statewide GOP primaries.
Tom Guarente, a Nashville-area cybersecurity company executive, has filed paperwork to run as a Republican. He moved to the area six years ago from Ohio, where he briefly ran for Congress a decade ago.
Guarente, who said his beliefs are “in line with the Republican platform,” tells the Banner he is running because “the residents of District 5 deserve to have a different type of representative in Washington.” Specifically, Guarente says, Ogles has fallen short by exaggerating his résumé, failing to sufficiently communicate with constituents and seeking attention rather than productivity in Washington.
“I notice there are individuals that treat Washington, D.C., as a stage, and there are individuals that treat Washington, D.C., as a place of work,” Guarente says. “We’re fortunate in Tennessee to have many elected representatives that work hard when they get to Washington, but when I have spoken with many people from within the district, they don’t feel the same about the current representation they have. … Our nation is at a point right now where it needs true public servants who are not there to be popular, and they’re not there to make headlines. They’re there to make progress and be in touch with the people of their district.”
Not everyone is as eager to jump into the fray.
Rush Benton, a longtime Nashville financial professional, tells the Banner he “gave it consideration and decided not to” run for the GOP nomination. Benton, who attends Covenant Presbyterian Church, says Ogles’ response to the Covenant School shooting and overall dissatisfaction with Ogles’ demeanor as a representative inspired him to consider a run.
“It’s clearly a Republican district, which is fine," Benton says. "I just don’t think it’s a MAGA district, frankly. It’s frustrating that we have a congressman who, it seems to me, is less about policy and more about Instagram hits or Twitter hits. He’s from the camp that wants to continue to stoke the division in the country and not do anything to pull us together.”
Adds Benton about the Covenant shooting: “Here’s this guy with a Christmas card showing his family all holding AR-15s. Like, really? That’s the Congressman that we have? … He’s just completely ignored that whole issue and those families.”
Benton says he spoke with political consultants about the realities of a potential campaign and decided not to run. He says a winning GOP primary challenger would need to unite the anti-Ogles camp while attracting some crossover Democratic support — easier said than done. Benton also laments a lack of “sanity” in Washington and an unwillingness to “bend the knee” to Trump as contributing to his decision.
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“There is no room for somebody who is not a Trump supporter in the Republican Party,” Benton says. “I just refuse to bend the knee to Donald Trump. If that’s what it takes to be a Republican, I’m just not going to do that.
“Congress is not a great place right now,” he continues. “If it were a place that had some sanity to it, I think you might find better candidates stepping up and running, but it’s so dysfunctional that you end up with this really, incredibly bad leadership.”
But it’s not just Republicans looking at the district, which though it significantly favors Republicans, is among the more competitive in the state. The Tennessean reports that Nashville advocate and Metro Human Relations Commission Chair Maryam Abolfazli is considering a run for the Democratic nomination. According to multiple Democratic sources, state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville), who drew national attention when he (along with Rep. Justin Pearson) was expelled from the legislature last year after leading a gun violence protest on the House floor, has considered a bid in the 5th Congressional District. He could not be reached for comment. Nor could Ogles.
