Federal Candidates Spending Big In Key Tennessee Congressional Race

Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom via The Tennessee Lookout

By Sam Stockard [The Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –

Candidates in a critical Middle Tennessee congressional campaign are taking digs at each other through heavy TV ad buys in the waning days of the Nov. 5 election.

In the 7th Congressional District race, former Metro Nashville Mayor Megan Barry launched an ad recently claiming Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green “rigged” rules for Congress members to trade stocks and supported tax breaks for the wealthy instead of reductions for the middle class. Barry has spent roughly $350,000 on ad buys with Nashville’s main TV stations over the past month, with the new ad gigging Green for what some have flagged as questionable stock buys.

Green, a former state senator from Cheatham County and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, went on the defensive with his own ad saying Barry backs Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency, “even after (Biden-Harris) spent trillions, wrecked our economy with massive inflation and opened the border.” Green has spent about $300,000 on TV ad buys with Nashville’s main stations over a shorter period of time. 

Questions about Green’s stock buys have dogged him throughout since late 2023.

Green made a 122% return on investments last year, Congress’ second highest ranking, according to The New Republic. Most of his investments are with energy companies, and one with NGL Energy Partners drew attention when he failed to disclose a purchase between $100,000 and $250,000 within 45 days of a required reporting time frame, a violation of the STOCK Act, according to a Business Insider report.

Green’s financial activity and that of other members of Congress spurred support for a measure requiring them to divest of stocks while serving. Critics say they have access to privileged information that could give them an unfair advantage in the stock market. 

Green responded with a statement in January saying he has no “insight” into his trades and is notified about them only after they’re made. He noted in the statement he ordered his broker to manage his family’s investments and to disregard any instructions from him.

Barry’s ad also asks whether voters would support a congressman who wants to ban abortions without exception or someone “fighting to guarantee” reproductive freedom. 

Green has said he would stick with allowing states to make their own rules on abortion, according to reports, but signed on to the Life At Conception Act, Congress.gov shows. Tennessee law allows abortions only in emergency situations for women.

While Barry’s ad goes for Green’s jugular, the Green ad only links her to Harris and President Joe Biden, claiming they are “too liberal for Tennessee” while touting Green as an Army veteran and supporter of former President Donald Trump who “led the charge in Congress to secure the border and undo the damage caused by Biden and Harris.” 

Green wound up representing a portion of Metro Nashville two years ago after the Tennessee Legislature redrew congressional district maps and split Davidson County into three districts. That, combined with heavily Republican suburban and rural areas, made it difficult for a Democrat to win a seat. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper had held the 5th Congressional District seat for years before opting not to run in a district he said was gerrymandered to favor Republicans.

Green criticized the redistricting move two years ago, calling it “inherently unfair,” yet went on to defeat Democratic candidate Odessa Kelly by 21.5 percentage points in 2022.

Barry, though, appears to have better funding than Kelly, reporting she brought in $1.13 million since December 2023. She has spent $723,900 and had more than $410,000 on hand at the end of September. 

Green reported campaign receipts totaling $1.9 million over 2023 and 2024 with $1.58 million in expenses and a little more than $500,000 in the bank as of Sept. 30.

If Barry can make a bigger dent in Green’s margin on Election Day, possibly hitting a 7-point margin, the 7th Congressional District could become a toss-up seat in the 2026 race.

Green announced earlier this year he wasn’t going to seek re-election, potentially opening the door for other candidates. He changed his mind a week later, saying former President Trump encouraged him to run and support his policies if he wins the presidency.