Image Credit: @KnoxRepublican / X
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
According to a Facebook post from the conservative group Knox for Liberty, the Knox County GOP may be attempting to subvert both county and state bylaws to suppress conservative voices heading into their 2025 county reorganizational convention.
Per the Tennessee GOP (TNGOP) bylaws, each county is required to host a reorganizational meeting every odd year to elect party leadership, precinct captains, and other administrative business as required by the rules and bylaws for each county.
The standard process is to host a mass convention, but any county may petition to host a delegated convention instead, meaning that delegates are first elected from individual precincts who then cast votes at the larger convention for party leadership and other party business.
This delegated method is not unusual, especially for some of the more populous counties in Tennessee, but the TNGOP bylaws prescribe a specific protocol and set of rules for how county reorganizations are to be conducted and how they may request approval for a delegated convention in lieu of a mass convention.
Yet reportedly, the Knox County GOP is attempting to call for a delegated precinct convention before they have received the proper votes from the County Executive Committee or approval from the state Chairman.
Knox for Liberty’s post asserts, “The Knox County GOP chairman and vice chairman are trying to make sure that conservative Republican voices are not heard. It has come to my attention and has been confirmed by multiple sources that the GOP chairman plans on having a precinct convention. This has not been voted on by the executive committee, nor has it been approved by the state as the bylaws require. Most of the executive committee has been kept in the dark about this process, and have been assured by the chairman and vice chairman that they are not doing this behind their backs. There are over 100 precincts in Knox County and in order to have a precinct convention, 1/3 of them must be running, with a precinct chairman or captain. I, and many others, have applied to join a precinct, yet have heard nothing. The vice chairman assured me and another person who applied that she has our names and would be in touch. That was last spring.”
Unfortunately, as is the case with many county parties in Tennessee, despite being the governing polices and platforms for leadership and party members, the Knox County GOP bylaws are not posted to the website or other publicly accessible platforms, so the ability to accurately confirm or deny discrepancies and interpretations is extremely difficult for members and citizens looking to perform due diligence.
Concealment of organizational bylaws also renders enforcement of accountability problematic as members cannot easily determine if their leadership is properly fulfilling duties and responsibilities and calls into question the integrity of such leadership that would seek to obscure simple bylaws from public accessibility, especially those who elected them and to whom they are accountable.
Knox for Liberty is encouraging all Republicans to contact State Party Chair Scott Golden (golden@tngop.org) to “demand that he hold the Knox County GOP to abide by the bylaws and that they be denied the ability to hold a precinct convention,” or even to reach out to the national Republican party via their contact form or on social media by tagging Chairman Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) and Co-Chair Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) on X, “with demands that conservative voices in Knox County not be silenced.”
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
4 Responses
How many times do we have to say that Diddy is NOT a role model?
Why those of us with good sense don’t contribute to the RINO mill RNC/GOP/TNGOP.
Williamson County Republicans revolted and voted out the RINO bad bunch and voted in great conservatives, and that has made a big difference. Conservatives have now taken control of the School Board, which was controlled by Libs.
I can confirm that Knox County does not have any bylaws, so they are required to follow the state bylaws. There are many other issues with the current chairman and vice chairwoman, such as waiting til the last minute to send out election reminder cards, not having a headquarters, and not getting presidential election signs until September. They’ve also had to cancel their last fundraiser as they could not garner enough support. They did nothing in the city elections except bring one man to a meeting for their city mayor candidate who was not a Republican, nor did he meet the eligibility requirements to run in Knoxville. This is a last ditch effort for the establishment in Knox County to retain power.