Voting in the 2018 Republican and Democrat primary elections begins today after candidates for statewide and local office have spent record amounts. So far, the four major candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination–Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd, Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, and Williamson County…
Read More
Tennessee Star Constitution Bee winner Cooper Moran was a witness to history on Tuesday. The rising senior at Lincoln County High School was at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. just as Vice President Mike Pence escorted Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh through the hallways as he began his visits…
Read More
A woman claiming to be a union member from Nashville left a foul-mouthed voice mail last week at the offices of the Mackinac Center, the Michigan-based think tank that filed an amicus brief in the Janus v. AFSCME lawsuit in which the Supreme Court ruled employees could not be required…
Read More
At the recent National Education Association (NEA) Annual Meeting, where Tennessee Education Association (TEA) representatives participated along with other affiliates across the country, the highly partisan NEA took strong positions against immigration reform and Republicans in general. They even gave an award to controversial former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to…
Read More
A poll released by Axios-Survey Monkey on Tuesday shows that Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) leads Democrat Phil Bredesen by 14 points in the U.S. Senate general election, 55 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. Among likely voters, Blackburn’s lead over Bredesen is even greater, 58 percent to 40 percent. Axios-Survey…
Read More
By Dr. Carol M. Swain For weeks I have been telling folks the only viable GOP gubernatorial choices for Christian conservatives are Representative Diane Black and business owner Bill Lee. These two candidates are competing for and splitting the votes of Christian conservatives. Because I have friends supporting both candidates,…
Read More
President Trump announced on a live television broadcast Monday night that he is nominating federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kavanaugh, 53, will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Court. Kennedy, long considered the “swing vote” on the…
Read More
The Tennessean reported on Monday that the Irish subsidiary of Radio Systems Corporation, the company founded and majority controlled by Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd, is a tax haven that enables Boyd’s Knoxville-based company to significantly diminish its U.S. tax obligations. The report is based on documents The Tennessean says…
Read More
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $164,540 to candidates for federal and state offices during the 19 year period beginning in 1999 and ending in 2017, according to records provided to The Tennessee Star by the Lee campaign. Of that amount, 99.27 percent, or $163,340, went to Republican candidates, while…
Read More
CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee–State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) endorsed Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) for governor at his Red, White, and Blues Barbecue event held at the Old Glory Distilling Company in Clarksville on Saturday night. Green told the enthusiastic crowd of 300 supporters in attendance that, while he is friends with all…
Read More
A high ranking source who serves on the Republican Governors Association’s (RGA) select national finance committee told The Tennessee Star that current and former RGA staff appear to be actively trying to damage the gubernatorial campaigns of Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) and possibly Bill Lee, while promoting close Haslam ally…
Read More
The state gas tax increased another 1 cent per gallon today, thanks to the IMPROVE Act passed by Democrats and “moderate” Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Bill Haslam in May 2017. The controversial law raised state gas taxes by 6 cents per gallon…
Read More
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $1,000 to Phil Bredesen’s campaign in 2004, when the current Democrat candidate for U.S. Senator was gearing up to run for his second term as governor of Tennessee, and did not contribute to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign, according to reports filed with the…
Read More
Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd leads Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) by 5 points, 32 percent to 27 percent, among likely Republican gubernatorial primary voters in a Tennessee Star Poll released today. The battle for the Republican nomination for governor in Tennessee is now a three-way race, with Williamson County businessman Bill Lee…
Read More
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement on Wednesday has prompted an immediate confirmation battle heading into the Fall mid-terms and is already having an impact on Tennessee’s Senate race. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who is running to succeed Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), issued a statement shortly after Kennedy made his…
Read More
NASHVILLE, TN–In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star on Monday, Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA), a leading member of the House Freedom Caucus and former aide to Ronald Reagan, explained why he is endorsing State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) in the Republican primary in Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District. “Our country…
Read More
The second in a series of three debates between the four candidates for the Republican nomination for governor broadcast across the state produced few fireworks on Wednesday night. However, it may have helped Bill Lee introduce himself and gain traction as voters begin to increase their focus on a race…
Read More
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) issued a resounding defense of President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our country’s immigration laws on Tuesday. “Thousands of families legally immigrate to the United States every year, following all the rules. Those who break the law risk consequences – potential detention, separation from their families and…
Read More
Republican Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett has released his first television ad in his bid to succeed retiring Congressman Jimmy Duncan in East Tennessee’s Second Congressional District. The ad is running district-wide on both cable and broadcast TV. Titled “East Tennessee Conservative,” the ad highlights Burchett’s conservative record, his commitment…
Read More
Nashville General Hospital recorded an operating loss of $41.1 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017, and required $50.2 million from the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Government to stay afloat, according to its audited financial statements. A review of the income statement summary suggests that $29.8 million of…
Read More
State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) endorsed Williamson County businessman Bill Lee for governor at a joint town hall appearance on Thursday. Reedy released a statement that same day announcing his endorsement: In 2014, I was running for State Representative of District 74, Houston, Humphreys, and part of Montgomery Counties. I…
Read More
by George Rasley, CHQ Editor Last week, the American Medical Association passed a series of gun-related resolutions, including calling for a ban on “assault weapons” and came out against arming teachers to fight what it claims is a public health crisis. The Associated Press reports Dr. Megan Ranney, an…
Read More
Williamson County businessman Bill Lee won the gubernatorial straw poll at the Robertson County Republican Party’s annual Reagan Ranch dinner on Friday. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) finished in second place, followed by Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd in third place and Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) in fourth…
Read More
The Tennessee Republican Party slammed Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), who was in Lebanon, Tennessee yesterday raising money for Phil Bredesen’s Senate campaign at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s annual Three Star Dinner. In a statement released on Saturday, the Tennessee GOP said Jones’ fundraising activities for Bredesen should not “be surprising…
Read More
by Andrew Follett Text messages sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok prior to the 2016 election implied a willingness to take official actions to impact the presidential election, according to a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. “We were deeply troubled by text messages sent by Strzok…
Read More
The Tennessee Democratic Party is holding their annual Three Star Dinner Saturday evening in Lebanon at the Wilson County Expo Center. The event was formerly the Jackson Day Dinner until political correctness forced them to drop the reference to Andrew Jackson, the founder of the national party and one of…
Read More
CHQ Staff For the past several months those wishing to stall action on the obvious misdeeds of the Obama-era Department of Justice and FBI have been saying “wait for the Inspector General’s report,” however, the much-anticipated Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s conduct during the 2016…
Read More
A complaint filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance by a supporter of former Republican State Senator Mae Beavers’ opponent in the upcoming Wilson County Mayor election has been dismissed by the Registry. The dismissal, by unanimous vote of the members of the Registry, came after a “light audit,”…
Read More
The Tennessee Department of Education announced at a noon press conference on Thursday several changes to the state TNReady test that teachers, administrators and superintendents have been asking the state to make, the Professional Educators said in a statement released on Thursday. “Among the changes include rebidding the testing contract,…
Read More
SMYRNA, Tennessee–On Saturday, the Blue Angels honored their colleague, pilot and Marine Corps Captain Jeff Kuss, who died tragically in a plane crash during a training exercise in Smyrna two years ago. “A Blue Angel F/A-18C Hornet [was] installed at the Capt. Jeff Kuss USMC Memorial at Lee Victory Recreation…
Read More
A week after President Donald Trump said at a rally in Nashville that Phil Bredesen is “an absolute total tool” of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate and former governor of Tennessee provided compelling evidence to confirm the truth of the president’s statement. “Phil…
Read More
Metro Nashville Public Schools is paying an “educational consultant” who does not have a four year college degree $80,000 in a 12 month contract to provide the school system with a “pilot project” that has vague deliverables. Bruce D. Taylor, who apparently had a similar consulting contract with the Prince…
Read More
NASHVILLE, Tennessee–President Donald Trump took an ole hickory stick to former Gov. Phil Bredesen Tuesday night and the raucous crowd of more than 8,000 supporters jammed in to the Municipal Auditorium loved it. You can see the transcript of the portion of the president’s talk that addressed Bredesen, the presumptive…
Read More
by State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) Why are there still more than 30 federal judge nominees awaiting a floor vote by the U.S. Senate? These well-qualified nominees are broadly-supported and have all been approved by the Judiciary Committee. At a time when federal courts are desperately needing new judges…
Read More
by Chuck Ross A battle of semantics has dominated the revelation that the FBI used a Cambridge professor named Stefan Halper to keep tabs on three Trump campaign advisers. The argument is over whether Halper was a mere FBI informant or a spy, as President Trump has asserted. But…
Read More
by Peter Hasson The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Los Angeles branch compared the state of Israel to the terrorist group ISIS in a recent speech, video from the event shows. The CAIR-LA official, Hussam Ayloush, appeared to draw an equivalency between American Jews who fight in…
Read More
by Steve Birr A judge sentenced a Mexican national busted for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl on a flight to Connecticut to three years in prison. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer handed down the ruling Friday after Jesus Gomez-Valdivia plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and reentry of…
Read More
UPDATE, Saturday 10:45 a.m. President Trump tweeted early Saturday morning that American Josh Holt has been released from a Venezuelan prison: Good news about the release of the American hostage from Venezuela. Should be landing in D.C. this evening and be in the White House, with his family, at about…
Read More
NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Mayor David Briley won the Nashville/Davidson County special mayoral election on Thursday, winning 55 percent of the vote in a field of 13 candidates, easily clearing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election. Former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain finished in second place with 23 percent…
Read More
NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Mayor David Briley took a big lead over former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain in early voting results in the Nashville special mayoral election reported by the Davidson County Election Commission at 7:15 pm, 15 minutes after polls closed. Vote totals in early voting, by top candidates, were as…
Read More
Officials at the National Hockey League are maintaining a zone of silence for the third straight day when it comes to responding to The Tennessee Star’s questions about whether the Nashville Predators’ endorsement of far left David Briley in tomorrow’s special mayoral election in Nashville/Davidson County violates league rules. The…
Read More
Voters in Nashville/Davidson County go to the polls today to elect a new mayor to serve out the remaining one year and three months of the term of former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in disgrace on March 6 after pleading guilty to a felony earlier that day. If none…
Read More
Acting Mayor David “Boondoggle Briley” has vowed “continuity” if voters in Nashville/Davidson County elect him to serve the remaining one year and three months of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry’s term in tomorrow’s special mayoral election. Nothing illustrates Briley’s embrace of his predecessor’s progressive policies better than this pink hat…
Read More
Thomas Cigarran, the Chairman and lead owner of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, contributed $5,400 to the U.S. Senate campaign of Democrat Phil Bredesen on March 31, 2018, according to Federal Election Commission records, signifying the beginning of the sudden transformation of the organization he leads from a professional major league…
Read More
The National Hockey League has failed to respond to multiple questions posed by The Tennessee Star Monday morning concerning whether or not the Nashville Predators’ endorsement of Acting Mayor David Briley in Thursday’s special mayoral election in Nashville/Davidson County violates league bylaws. An employee of the NHL acknowledged receipt of…
Read More
The Nashville Predators’ unprecedented endorsement of Acting Mayor David Briley in this Thursday’s special mayoral election in Nashville/Davidson County is “a sleazy quid pro quo,” one long time Tennessee Republican political operative tells The Tennessee Star. The definition of “quid pro quo” is “something that is given or taken in…
Read More
Residents of Nashville/Davidson County surprised the local punditry on Saturday when 7,818 voters cast their ballots Saturday on the last day of early voting in the May 24 special mayoral election. The new single day record for the 14 day early voting period brought the total early voting turnout to…
Read More
Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley has raised more than $720,000 for his campaign to win the May 24 special mayoral election, according to two financial disclosures filed by his campaign with the Davidson County Election Commission for the period beginning March 8 and ending March 31 (when he raised…
Read More
A total of 6,654 residents of Nashville/Davidson County turned out to early vote on Friday, eclipsing Thursday’s single day record of 5,194 during the 14 day early voting period that began May 4 and ends at 4:30 pm today for the May 24 special mayoral election, bringing the total number…
Read More
Early voting turnout in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election jumped to 5,194 on Thursday, the largest single day early voting turnout so far. As was the case on Tuesday, when the previous one day high of 3,537 was set, all 11 early voting locations were open until 7…
Read More