It’s not possible to predict, project or even understand some of the primary elections underway today (08/01/24). Polls are open from 8-8. Here are some random thoughts.
Becky Massey (R) vs. Monica Irvine (R) – This Republican primary contest (Knox Senate District 6) has me riled up. That’s because Becky Massey is well-known as a hard worker. She chairs the Transportation Committee and has a knack for networking. Like her dad, the late U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Becky will not be outworked. She was in Halls a couple of hot Saturdays ago, supporting the fundraiser for THP officer Grant Gouldie.
I’ve never met Monica Irvine but I’ve noticed her barrage of television ads touting “freedom.” Her earlier ads called her a “Constitutional Republican,” whatever that means. Are Gov. Bill Lee and Sens. Massey, Richard Briggs and Randy McNally somehow less or “un” constitutional?
Becky Massey has earned re-election.
Matthew Park (D) vs. Andy Fox (R) – Some are predicting a Park win in this south Knox County Commission race (Knox District 9), but I can’t see it. South county is just too conservative. Park’s strength will come from inside the city where he’s active in the Island Home neighborhood.
But could Andy Fox be too conservative? Fox upset Barry Neal in the May GOP primary for the seat that’s been held by term-limited Carson Dailey. Neal would have been a sure-bet general election winner.
On his website, Fox launches a wild attack on “Soros-backed social justice district attorneys (Charme Allen???), who let criminals go but will prosecute citizens who try to defend themselves.” He also rants against “liberal Democrat attempts to turn Knox County into a place of high taxes, rampant homeless population defecating and urinating in public.”
Today’s choice is about your vision of local government – fixing potholes and funding schools and the sheriff or pushing a national agenda of catchphrases. Good luck, South Knoxville.
Andy Ogles (R) vs. Courtney Johnston (R)
One-term U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles is challenged by Nashville Metro council member Courtney Johnston. Both are conservative, but Ogles does stunts like posing his three kids with automatic assault rifles for the family Christmas card. Johnston has raised a bunch of money and Ogles is worried. Today’s primary winner is headed to Congress.
In a provocative article, Michelle Goldberg discussed the MAGA Revolution eating its own. She writes of a conflict splitting the Republican Party as “GOP activists demand ever greater levels of purity and belligerence from their leaders.”
She cites the November race for governor of Indiana where U.S. Rep. Mike Braun got the Republican nomination. On the same day, Braun’s choice for lieutenant governor was rejected. Selected instead was Micah Beckwith, “a Pentecostal pastor, podcaster and self-described Christian nationalist who was chosen, despite Braun’s wishes, to be his running mate.” The conflict gives an opening to the Democrats.
Golberg’s conclusion: The divide within the Republican Party … isn’t really between moderates and conservatives, because almost everyone involved is very right wing. It is, rather, between people who know how to work within the existing system and outsiders who want to overturn it.
When you check tonight’s election results, look for this. Massey, Park and Johnston are folks who know how to work within the existing system; while Irvine, Fox and Ogles want to overturn it.
Tonight’s winners will be predictive of serious vs. zero primary opposition to Rep. Tim Burchett in 2026.
Sandra Clark is founder of KnoxTNToday.com
