“I heard this over and over: ‘Well, I’m all for Trump, but he doesn’t need to be telling us who the hell to vote for,” said one member of the state party’s executive committee. “This is Tennessee … Don’t tell me what the hell I gotta do.”
But nowhere have Republicans gone farther in pushing back on Trump’s endorsement than in Tennessee.
A Republican operative in the state, who requested anonymity to speak candidly on the effort, said the plan initially centered on pursuing a residency requirement bill that could have, if enacted before the April 7 filing deadline, stopped her candidacy in its tracks. At the same time, rumors swirled in local GOP circles that Trump would not care if Ortagus’ bid was thwarted before voters had the chance to weigh in on her candidacy. State Sen. Frank Niceley, who spearheaded the legislation, suggested in an interview with NBC News that only Jewish members of Trump’s family cared for Ortagus’ bid, since she is Jewish — earning condemnation from Ortagus and others.
Still, fearful of potential threats to their safety, committee members cast their final ballots upholding the candidate’s removal from the primary race in secret at a secure location in mid-April. They reviewed documentation provided by each of the three challenged candidates — Ortagus, right-wing influencer Robby
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