UPSET ALERT: Trump Backed Rep. Andy Ogles Loses Primary, Here’s How It Happened

This was truly a shocking upset.

Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee has lost his primary race.

Rep. Ogles lost to former state agriculture commissioner Charlie Hatcher by quite a large margin.

Hatcher garnered 53.2% of the vote compared to Ogles’ 46.8%.

WOW: President Trump-backed Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) lost his Republican primary last night to Charlie Hatcher.

Tennessee House 5:
🔴 Charlie Hatcher: 53.2%
🔴 Andy Ogles: 46.8% pic.twitter.com/ddzd35bstM

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) August 7, 2026

The New York Times reported details on what led to Rep. Ogles’ defeat:

Representative Andy Ogles, a hard-line Tennessee Republican who has faced backlash over anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric, lost his primary to Charlie Hatcher, a former state agriculture commissioner, in the Fifth Congressional District, The Associated Press said on Thursday.

Mr. Ogles’s loss is seen as an upset despite the controversy he has courted over his two terms in Congress. He had secured President Trump’s endorsement, as well as backing from several prominent conservative groups.

But Mr. Ogles was running in a new congressional district after Republicans redrew the lines during the fallout from the Supreme Court’s weakening of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The district, which once included part of Nashville, now stretches from a cluster of suburbs outside the city west to parts of Memphis.

Mr. Hatcher, a longtime dairy farmer, had also won support from some notable establishment Republicans in the state, including the outgoing governor, Bill Lee. Besides urging voters to “hire a farmer,” Mr. Hatcher had taken care to emphasize his support for Mr. Trump, even without his endorsement.

At an election party on Thursday, Mr. Hatcher told reporters he would continue “meeting people where they are, working our tails off — this ragtag team of mine has been pretty successful.”

He had been buoyed by outside spending from a super PAC, the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition. The group, funded by renewable energy developers, has spent $2 million since mid-July.

The district “just proved once again that standing in the way of America’s energy future comes with a hefty political price,” said Tom Matzzie, chairman of the coalition, in a statement. He added, “we will continue to punish members of either party who want to play politics with American jobs, energy security, and utility prices.”

Mr. Ogles had escalated his campaign in recent weeks, unveiling endorsements from high-profile conservative lawmakers and accusing the group of trying to “buy” his seat. He also noted that Mr. Hatcher, who had declared his candidacy before the new district lines were drawn, saw his farm drawn just outside the district under the new map.

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Many Republicans were shocked that Ogles lost his race:

What happened here? https://t.co/dwIstY9nEE

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 7, 2026

Andy Ogles was beloved as someone who would actually remigrate people and he’s gone

The GOP should be gutted like a fish. Bone and all. https://t.co/dZJpQC2pNm

— Aidan (@aidannonx) August 7, 2026

Just days before losing his primary, Ogles filed articles of impeachment against an Obama-appointed judge who defied the Supreme Court.

Yahoo News shared further details on Ogles’ move:

A Republican member of Congress is seeking to impeach a federal judge sitting in Boston because she ordered a stay of the federal government’s efforts to end temporary protected status for Somalis.

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican representing a district in middle Tennessee, said Judge Allison Dale Burroughs committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” when she issued an order that he claims skirted the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on judicial review of the temporary protected status for Haitians.

Ogles introduced his lone article of impeachment on Monday, and the resolution was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

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A spokesperson for Ogles did not return a request for comment about the resolution.

In a series of posts on the social media site X, Ogles called Burroughs a “radical judicial activist” who is “weaponizing the bench to protect invaders.”

“Judge Burroughs is breaking her oath to the constitution and legal precedent,” the lawmaker wrote Tuesday. “Oathbreakers deserve impeachment.”

The U.S. House of Representatives has impeached only 15 judges in its entire history. Recent impeachments include judges who were accused of accepting bribes, sexual assault and committing perjury before a grand jury.

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