President Donald Trump has been humiliated after a second Republican he endorsed lost their primary this week.
Hard-line Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles lost his primary for the 5th Congressional District to Charlie Hatcher, a former state agriculture commissioner, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. Ogles, a MAGA star, has faced a number of controversies in the lead-up to the race, including a shockingly Islamophobic post.
A loss in a primary is rare for an incumbent member of Congress, particularly a Republican personally backed by Trump.
With 95 percent of the votes counted at time of publishing, Hatcher was up 53.2 percent to Ogles’ 46.8 percent, according to the New York Times.
The embarrassing result follows Amir Hassan, whom Trump also backed, losing his bid for Michigan’s 8th District on Tuesday. The president handed him a “Complete and Total Endorsement” on Truth Social in July.
In Tennessee, Hatcher was supported by prominent Republicans, including Gov. Bill Lee, and is now a key favorite in the general election for the deep-red district.
Hatcher campaigned as “pro-gun, pro-life, pro-Trump,” and a campaign video on his website sees him directly appealing to voters on his farm surrounded by cows. He praises Trump, saying he would have been “a fantastic farmer.”
Tennessee’s 5th District became skewed in favor of Republicans after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act.
Ogles was first elected to Congress in 2022 and has frequently defended Trump in the House.
After a tele-rally supporting Ogles last week, Trump urged his supporters to back Ogles on Thursday with a Truth Social post that said, “GET OUT AND VOTE FOR ANDY – HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The president called Ogles a “Conservative Warrior who has strong support from his Community,” and highlighted his pro-gun stance, as well as his record on key Trump administration issues including secure borders, migrant crime and safe elections.
In return, Ogles has frequently shown his devotion to Trump, including filing a resolution to amend the Constitution in order to allow the president to serve a third term.
“It forces a conversation when you juxtapose the Trump administration, his vision for America, versus the failed policies of Joe Biden,” Ogles said on Fox Business in June.
He admitted that getting the bill passed would be “a challenge.”
He argued that amending the 22nd Amendment would allow Trump “to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs.”
Ogles also floated a “Make Greenland Great Again” bill, backing Trump’s desire to make the Danish territory part of America.
In March, Ogles made an array of posts on his X account that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”
He also posted that, “Homosexuality has no place in America,” at the start of Pride Month on X, but later apologized and deleted the post, blaming a member of his communications staff.
Ogles also had an issue with Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance in February, claiming it amounted to broadcasting gay pornography during primetime.
Calling it “pure smut,” Ogles said children were “forced to endure explicit displays of gay sexual acts, women gyrating provocatively, and Bad Bunny shamelessly grabbing his crotch while dry-humping the air,” in a post on X.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
