A Democratic Super PAC will be spending a large sum of money to help unseat Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in November.
The House Majority PAC (HMP) announced last week that it will spend nearly $1.6 million in television and digital advertising for the Nashville market.
In addition to Nashville, the Super PAC will be spending in 67 other media markets, totaling $272 million. Almost 80 percent of HMP’s investments are in areas where HMP thinks Democrats have a chance of winning.
“HMP’s historic television and digital ad reservations reflect that Democrats are firmly on offense heading into November,” said HMP President Mike Smith.
“While Democrats are expanding the map nationwide, House Republicans are losing ground after failing to lower costs, making health care more expensive, and dragging us into another costly and unpopular foreign war,” Smith said. “Democrats will take back the House in November, and elect Hakeem Jeffries as the next Speaker.”
As a Super PAC, HMP was founded in 2011 after the Supreme Court’s decision allowing dark money to be spent on political races. It was founded by Alixandria Lapp, who previously worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
According to Ballotpedia, Lapp stepped down as HMP’s president in 2023 and was replaced by Smith, who was a former senior advisor to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Lapp still serves as HMP’s treasurer.
During the 2024 election cycle, HMP received donations from billionaire Democrats Michael Bloomberg, JB Pritzker, Reed Hastings, and Tom Steyer, according to Open Secrets. On top of this, the Super PAC received money from America’s largest public union, AFSCME, and the National Education Association.
As a politician, Ogles has made national headlines for his recent comments about Muslims and his attempt to change America’s immigration system.
Ogles said in March that Muslims “don’t belong in American society” after two men were accused of attempting to bomb a demonstration outside of Gracie Mansion, which is where Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his family live. The two men allegedly pledged their allegiance to ISIS.
Also in March, Ogles introduced the Assimilation Act of 2026, which would overhaul America’s immigration system by removing family-based migration and employment visas, as well as strengthening screening processes.
In the 2026 Democratic primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, four Democrats, including Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, are vying for the nomination. Ogles is running against Charlie Hatcher, the former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture, in the Republican primary.
Both of these primaries will take place on August 6th.
Ogles defeated Maryam Abolfazli in the 5th Congressional District’s race in 2024 by nearly 63,000 votes.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles.
