The national Democratic Party targeted U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee's 5th Congressional District with attack ads this week as part of a nationwide strategy to flip House seats in 2026. Small-dollar banner ads associating Ogles with declining rural health care began running on Meta platforms on July 7, according to site analytics — 16 months before he faces reelection in Tennessee’s 5th.
Despite money and establishment connections, Republicans fail to depose far-right incumbent in District 5
Republicans currently hold a 220- to 212-seat majority in the House of Representatives, with three vacancies due to the recent deaths of Raul Grijalva, Gerry Connolly and Sylvester Turner, all Democrats. This means Democrats could win the chamber by flipping three Republican-held seats while defending the 215 seats won by Democrats in 2024. Ogles defeated Republican challenger and Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston in a contested primary and won the general election by more than 17 percentage points over progressive Democrat Maryam Abolfazli in November.Â
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — commonly known as DCCC, or simply the “D-Trip” — included Ogles in a first round of ad buys, signaling its early interest in flipping the seat. Multiple scandals have dogged Ogles since his election to Congress in 2022, including revelations that he misrepresented his education and work history and raised almost $25,000 for a child memorial site that was never built.
Republican congressman agrees to fine and additional compliance measures following campaign finance dispute
Ogles has gained a reputation in Congress as a member of the GOP’s far-right flank alongside Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned last year. A week after Trump’s second inauguration, federal prosecutors abandoned a DOJ investigation into Ogles that was believed to center on campaign finances. Ogles previously paid a $5,750 civil penalty to the FEC for campaign finance violations.Â
The DCCC started running ads after Ogles’ recent vote for Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” The Ogles ad buy is listed at less than $100 and targets 100,000 to 500,000 Facebook and Instagram users.
Screenshot of the DCCC's ad targeting Rep. Andy Ogles
“Because of his vote, rural hospitals across America are now at risk of closing,” the ad reads, alongside a picture of Ogles. It cites a recent study from the University of North Carolina connecting the legislation to potential health care site closures in rural America.
Democrats target 26 members of Congress, including Ogles, with the exact same messaging. Ogles’ inclusion suggests that national Democrats see his blunders as significant enough to flip the Tennessee district, which was redrawn after the 2020 Census. In 2022, GOP state lawmakers “cracked” Nashville’s single congressional district into three surrounding seats.
