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The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Just days before the TN-7 special election, a suspicious political postcard from an unverified source has been reported circulating in Williamson and other rural counties claiming the “TN Republican party HQ” is keeping track of voters, causing some residents to raise the alarm and the TN GOP to intervene.
Photos of the postcard show the mailer is urging residents to vote in the special congressional election but includes vaguely threatening messages which imply the TN state Republican party is somehow utilizing private voter data to strongarm voters into casting a Republican ballot.
“Public records show that YOU HAVE NOT VOTED”, it reads on one side, yet on the reverse says, “If you have already voted, thank you for your vote.”
Other unsettling phrases on the card include, “Your neighbors are watching and will know if you miss this critical special election,” and, “The TN Republican party HQ will see whether you have voted…we are compiling an official list of Republicans who fail to vote.”
“You can’t afford to have that on your record,” it pressures.
TN GOP Chairman Scott Golden confirmed the state party did not send the postcard and stated it came from a “shadowy” out-of-state group.
“We’ve had a few calls to the office regarding the mailer… It wasn’t coming from the Tennessee Republican Party, even though it certainly referenced us… It was done with an Austin [TX] postmark,” Golden said.
He also indicated these mailers could violate federal electioneering laws and reiterated it’s against state party bylaws for the GOP to get involved at any level with a primary election.
“We’re not going to be sitting around trying to figure out who’s voted and who’s not voted…We never color outside those lines during the election process, so I mean, clearly, in this case, somebody has; and if you’ve broken the law, I think you should be held accountable,” he echoed.
The Williamson County Republican Party also published a statement on their website addressing the unusual literature, corroborating the state party was not responsible for the piece and pointing to federal election law requiring disclaimers stating who paid for it and if it was authorized by a candidate, which this postcard does not have.
“It appears they may have come from a private individual or group acting independently. At this time, the exact source cannot be confirmed,” the Williamson County GOP wrote.
Williamson County Democrat Party Chair Ragan Grossman concurred the mailers are odd and should be investigated.
“It’s extremely misleading- first of all. No one ever know who you vote for and I think it draws that into question, right?” Grossman said. “Even though it says, ‘Oh the Republican headquarters will know and your neighbors will know.’ It is public information if you vote and what kind of primary you vote in, but no one can ever tell how you vote.”
News 2 attempted to contact the organization named on the mailers, America First Conservatives Election Department, but stated they could not find an entity with that name.
As attestation, this reporter can confirm that research on behalf of The Tennessee Conservative also yielded no results for that group.
About the Author: 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.
2 Responses
As little use as RINO mill TNGOP is to actual Republicans, I doubt they’re behind this.
The real “RINO’s” are not the Williamson GOP – it’s the WCC. It sounds like them. The TN GOP should sue whoever sent that.