The Tennessee primary delivered something the political world has grown unaccustomed to seeing: a candidate personally endorsed by President Donald Trump losing outright. Former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher defeated U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles on Thursday in a Republican contest for a congressional district that barely resembles the one Ogles has represented.

Voters also set up a marquee general election fight in another dramatically reshaped seat, where Trump-backed state Sen. Brent Taylor will face Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson.

The First Run on a Brand New Map

These contests marked the debut of a congressional map Republican legislators redrew in May, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.

Trump publicly encouraged the redistricting effort, which fits into a broader national strategy aimed at preserving a narrow House majority through the midterms.

Republicans already control eight of Tennessee’s nine congressional seats. The redrawn lines put a clean sweep within reach in November.

The most consequential change hit Memphis. The 9th District had long been compact, majority Black and represented by a Democrat. Republicans broke it apart, and the resulting ripple effects reshaped districts across the state, including the one Ogles held.

Why Ogles Lost

Ogles carried significant baggage into the race despite his endorsement.

A member of the House Freedom Caucus, he had faced scrutiny over campaign finances and over his professional background. Trump backed him early last fall and praised him on Election Day as a conservative warrior as Ogles pursued a third term.

The controversies were substantial. The FBI seized his cellphone in 2024 during an investigation into his campaign finance reporting. The Justice Department recently agreed to return the device, an indication it was dropping the inquiry that had begun under the Biden administration.

Separately, in 2023 Ogles acknowledged that his degree from Middle Tennessee State University was in liberal studies, saying he had been mistaken in previously describing it as a degree in international relations.

Geography may have mattered as much as scandal. Ogles originally won his seat by capitalizing on a 2022 redistricting that split the Nashville area across three districts to Republican advantage. This time the redraw worked against him. The new 5th District runs from his central Tennessee base to the state’s northwest corner, then follows the Mississippi River south toward Memphis. According to an Associated Press estimate, 82 percent of its voters are new to the district.

That left Ogles running as an incumbent to an electorate that mostly did not know him.

Hatcher’s Path

Hatcher lacked Trump’s endorsement but had backing from Republican Gov. Bill Lee, under whom he served for seven years.

His campaign approach was straightforward: run as a pro-Trump Republican while foregrounding his agricultural background rather than national political fights.

Describing the win afterward, Hatcher said the message that connected was about working like a farmer, getting things done and serving others.

Ogles’ campaign declined to comment.

Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder captured the Democratic nomination in the 5th District.

Memphis: Pearson vs. Taylor

The new 9th District extends roughly 200 miles east from Memphis through rural territory before angling north toward Nashville. Once reliably Democratic, it now leans Republican, with an estimated 71 percent of voters new to the district.

Longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he would not seek reelection after the lines changed.

Pearson gained national attention when he was expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting in support of gun control measures, then returned to the chamber after voters sent him back.

Speaking to supporters Thursday, Pearson noted the date marked 61 years since the Voting Rights Act was signed, and argued the Supreme Court and Tennessee legislators have effectively unwound portions of it, enabling the dismantling of a majority-Black district. He described the political dilution and degradation of rights as an active process, while telling supporters they were a step closer to Washington.

Taylor drew sharp contrasts in a statement to his own supporters, calling Pearson the face of the extreme left and an activist who has repeatedly chosen chaos over order.

Their records diverge on several fronts. Pearson opposed Trump’s National Guard deployment to address crime in Memphis last year, while Taylor supported it and described it as an investment. Taylor also sponsored a 2024 law requiring law enforcement agencies to notify federal immigration authorities upon discovering that individuals are in the country illegally.

Voters in Shelby County Feel the Change

For decades, Memphis anchored its own congressional district. Shelby County is now divided among three districts that fan outward into rural areas.

Lonzo Taylor, a 72-year-old retired postal worker and military veteran, said Black voters have had their influence diluted. He noted the state had exactly one such district and questioned why even that could not be left intact, calling the outcome terrible and expressing disappointment in the governor who convened the special session that produced the map.

Terrice Thomas, a 45-year-old educator, was moved from District 9 to District 8 and had to research an unfamiliar slate of candidates. Her concern is representation itself, asking whether everyone will have an equal say and whether new representatives will account for what makes different communities distinct.

Other Races Worth Noting

In the 6th District, Republican Rep. John Rose passed on reelection to run for governor, opening a competitive primary in a GOP-leaning seat stretching east from Nashville. State Rep. Johnny Garrett won a Republican field that included Rose’s former chief of staff, ex-U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary. Mike Croley emerged from a five-candidate Democratic primary.

In the governor’s race, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn defeated Rose for the Republican nomination to succeed Lee, who is term-limited. Memphis City Council member Jerri Green won the Democratic primary. Republicans have held the office since 2011 and have won every Senate contest in the state since 1994.

Sen. Bill Hagerty was unopposed in his primary and will face Democratic nominee Marquita Bradshaw in November.

What It Signals

Two takeaways stand out from Thursday.

The first is that a Trump endorsement, while enormously valuable, is not automatically decisive when a candidate carries personal liabilities into a district full of unfamiliar voters.

The second is that aggressive redistricting cuts in unpredictable directions. The same map drawn to protect Republican advantage statewide is what stripped Ogles of the constituency that elected him twice.