Trump-endorsed candidate Bill Hagerty wins Tennessee Senate GOP primary
Bill Hagerty won the Tennessee Senate Republican primary on Thursday, defeating the 14 other candidates who hoped to replace retiring GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Hagerty, 60, was President Trump's first ambassador to Japan, and received his endorsement. In recent weeks, the race tightened, as orthopedic surgeon Manny Sethi declared he was the true conservative running, not Hagerty. He pointed to Hagerty's friendship with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and his past work in private equity as proof of this; in turn, Hagerty claimed that because Sethi made a $50 donation to a Democratic candidate, he wasn't trustworthy.
Stephanie Chivers, a longtime adviser to Alexander, told The New York Times it's "not as if there was any huge philosophical difference between Hagerty and Manny. So I really believe that Trump's endorsement made the difference."
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