Tennessee Republicans push against Trump-endorsed Congressional candidate

Republican lawmakers and Congressional hopefuls are standing up against the candidacy of Morgan Ortagus, who is running in a crowded race for a House seat in the state’s 5th district.

Ortagus, who previously served under former president Trump as a State Department spokesperson, announced her candidacy for the House seat in February, joining the field of now 12 other candidates who are vying for the newly-drawn position. Ortagus is also a financial analyst and political advisor.

In spite of her diverse experience, Republicans in Tennessee are speaking out against her candidacy. The state GOP went so far as to pass a new “residency bill” in February after Ortagus announced she was running, which requires candidates for political office to have lived in the state for at least three years prior to entering the race. Ortagus only moved to Tennessee last year.

Rep. Dave Wright told CNN that the new bill simply requires Congressional candidates to abide by the same residency rules as state government candidates.

“I think that most of my peer representatives on either side of the aisle here in Nashville saw it as being a good piece of legislation,” he said. “I’ve got to be a resident in the state of Tennessee for three years in order to campaign to be in the state legislature.”

The original draft of the bill required candidates running for Congress to represent Tennessee to have voted in at least three previous general elections in the state, but it was negotiated down to match the state requirement.

A spokesperson for Ortagus’ campaign said in a statement, “Morgan is going to keep doing the work and be out there pounding pavement and talking to folks because that is who she feels should make the decision, not politicians.”