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Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
As numerous Tennessee local, state, and federal races remain tight heading into the last few days before the August 6 election, left-leaning political action committees (PACs) are pouring money into propping up RINO candidates, sponsoring mailers, television commercials, and other forms of campaign support in efforts to crush conservatives.
One such group is The Best Of Tennessee, a nonprofit organization focused on “civic engagement” to “foster a more representative government.” The organization has a traditional PAC called the Best of Tennessee Victory Fund and a super PAC called the Best Of Tennessee Action Fund which is “dedicated to supporting candidates for state office who demonstrate strong leadership, integrity, and a commitment to serving their communities.”
While the group espouses nonpartisan neutrality, a deeper look the organization’s leadership shows decidedly non-conservative leanings, with many involved having been previously outspoken advocates for liberal policies.
Best of Tennessee founder and CEO Chole Akers, a Knoxville/Nashville attorney, has publicly identified herself as a Democrat to different media outlets and rose to prominence after posting an Instagram video which went viral discussing Tennessee’s abortion laws following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
The response prompted Akers to launch The Liminal Plan in 2023, an organization designed to “fight political extremism and promote moderate candidates supporting reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion, and gun safety legislation.” But about a year later, the organization was disbanded after raising roughly $439,000 and spending approximately 30% of that amount ($134,000) on a consulting firm owned by Akers herself while not donating any funds to support candidates.
Akers then pivoted to the Best of Tennessee banner in 2024, with Liminal Plan donating most if its remaining $2,200 to the rebranded group. Akers called Best of Tennessee the “evolution” of Liminal Plan, saying its goal was again to “root out political extremism in state government and elevate voices in the middle” and pushing policies like abortion, gun control, and expansion of government programs.
Other Best of Tennessee Board Members include:
- Mike McWherter, the 2010 Democratic nominee for Tennessee Governor, and son of former Democrat Governor Ned McWherter.
- Former Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, a known RINO who implemented and supported oppressive Covid measures, including mask mandates, social distancing, business lockdowns, and pushing the vaccine.
- Elliott Moore, a government relations consultant in the healthcare industry and widow of Carl Moore, a former Democrat Majority leader of the Tennessee Senate.
- Kim Kaegi, a professional fundraiser known for her work on both sides of the aisle, including for Republican Gov. Bill Lee and three Nashville mayors, all Democrats.
As Best of Tennessee is set up as a 501(c)4, the group can raise money without disclosing who its donors are and spend money without detailed expense reports, designating the organization as what campaign finance experts call a dark money policial group, and making accountability difficult.
One race Best of Tennessee appears to be particularly active in this election cycle is House District 27, where conservative champion Michele Reneau is facing Tony Hullender, who has received the backing of known RINO and establishment players including Reneau’s predecessor Patsy Hazelwood.
The Best of Tennessee Action Fund has sponsored mailers and tv ads against Reneau, making claims about her voting record and policy points with no evidence or sources for any of their statements and promoting Hullender as the candidate who “Gets Things Done.”
Outside money continues to pour in across the state, with dark money PACs heavily spending in other House Districts, like District 1 where Jessica Means is challenging longtime RINO incumbent John Crawford. The Texas-based super PAC AFC Victory Fund is wielding their influence on Crawford’s behalf, paying for mailers insinuating Means supports notorious Democrats like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, which Means’ campaign has flagged as patently false.
John Louallen, a conservative running to replace Rep. Mary Littleton in House District 78 is also facing “DC-billionaire cash” as opponents try to paint “the strongest conservative in the race” as a liberal, according to Rep. Jody Barrett. Barrett, who has endorsed Louallen, is no stranger to dark money machinations himself, facing over $3 million in fake attack ads and mailers during the special Congressional District 7 primary last year.
Even local State Executive Committee (SEC) races are being impacted by these dark dollars as the SEC governs and shapes the TN Republican Party, setting party rules, handling credentials, and deciding election contests, ultimately impacting Republicans all across the state. A brand-new organization, Tennessee First Action, seems to have appeared rather suddenly, spending money to influence multiple SEC races where there is a conservative candidate or incumbent.
The Facebook page for Tennessee First Action has virtually no content on it, despite their ads circulating for the establishment candidates, and the website domain was only registered on July 16, 2026, consisting of just a landing page with no information about the organization. There is no contact information and where or how their money is sourced remains a mystery.
And in the 5th Congressional District primary, conservative Andy Ogles’ campaign is facing a $2 million PAC blitz from the Invest In Tomorrow Coalition (ITC), which is backing Ogles’ competitor Charlie Hatcher. ITC, a clean-energy aligned super PAC, has run a combination of pro-Hatcher and anti-Ogles tv ads and “is here to show that politicians who oppose clean energy do so at their own political peril. Andy Ogles is next.”
ITC, which is backed by renewable energy executives, has also developed a website, Lyin’ Andy, to take shots at Ogles’ resume and voting record, claiming Ogles “can’t keep his own story straight.”
While conservatives may be frustrated with the intensity of dark money efforts to unseat or quash their preferred candidates, the mere fact that so much outside funding is required to prop up many of these moderate or left leaning “Republicans” indicates that conservative influence and effect may be much stronger than these organizations previously thought.
With continued grassroots exposure of these dark money PACs, election night on August 6 may wind up very differently than establishment players were hoping as tight races could be determined not by dollars spent, but the will of conservative voters to show up at the polls despite the PAC-pushed narratives.
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.
3 Responses
The forces of centrism, tepid conservatism, and corporatism are organized and wealthy. We conservatives can’t do much in the short-run about becoming wealthy, nor do we need to, but we can get better organized. Playing “hair on fire” defense during the early voting period is often necessary, but far more effective would be a permanent state-wide conservative political organization(s) singularly devoted to the goal of electing conservative candidates especially in the Republican primary. Way past time for the movers and shakers of Tennessee conservatism to get together and get ‘er done.
May God help us vote in true Conservatives, vote out lucifer’s accursed RINOs.
It seems that the GOP Party, in general, is more motivated in attacking and purging conservatives rather than going after the Democrats.
D and R…two sides of the same coin.
Recently, a friend of mine in South Alabama shared with me that the Houston County Republican Women’s club allowed a Democrat mayoral candidate to speak at their monthly meeting. When they were confronted, they had NO idea the candidate was running as a Democrat. Talk about the need for new leadership.