By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers:
We start off this election week with a couple of stories from the campaign trail.
In May, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn donated $4.8 million from her Senate campaign account to a political action committee, which — whaddya know! — has now used a subsidiary PAC to donate a nearly identical amount to her gubernatorial campaign.
State law prohibits funds raised for federal campaigns to be used in state campaigns but it doesn’t prohibit this sort of ‘workaround’, to use the phrase one expert interviewed by Adam Friedman did.
In other news:
Get out the vote! With voting for primary election day opening in 72 hours, candidates are throwing all the spaghetti at the wall, running across their districts holding get out the vote, or GOTV, rallies intended to whip up voters who didn’t cast their ballots during the early voting period.
Among those are former Tennessee Agriculture commissioner Charlie Hatcher, a dairy farmer whose campaign slogan is “Hire a farmer.” He is holding a GOTV event today at 11:30 in Dyersburg, heart of West Tennessee farming country.
Questions about who’s on the ballot? We’ve got you covered. Check out the Tennessee Lookout Voter Guide.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, pictured above, nearly depleted her campaign account when she donated $4.8 million to the Club for Growth Action PAC in May. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Adam Friedman
A political action committee operated by officers of the conservative pro-private school voucher group Club For Growth has spent $4.81 million backing U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s gubernatorial bid, months after Blackburn donated a nearly identical amount to the organization’s primary PAC, campaign finance reports show.
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
by Adam Friedman
Paper ballots, deportation of all immigrants and banning congressional stock trading are among the issues that unite the Republican candidates in the race for the newly-drawn 9th Congressional District while the Democrats in the race focus mostly on “kitchen table issues,” including the cost of groceries and child care.
NEWS AND NOTES
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’ | Jane Norman, States Newsroom
Trump defends massive settlement for ‘great American Patriots’ of Jan. 6, attacks GOP senators | Ashley Murray, States Newsroom
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
An anti-abortion protester with Operation Save America, left, squares off with abortion-rights during a July protest at the Tennessee Capitol in 2022. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Anita Wadhwani
Attorneys for anti-abortion activist Paul Vaughn, who was convicted in 2024 on a felony charge of conspiring to prevent access to a Mt. Juliet reproductive clinic and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, say they have reached a seven-figure settlement with the federal government on his behalf.
COMMENTARY
A makeshift memorial outside Burger King, where Pigram was killed by officers serving a warrant as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. Pigram is one of four men shot dead by Memphis Safe Task Force Agents. (Photo by Brad Vest for the Tennessee Lookout)
by J. Holly McCall
Unlike in Minnesota, where state lawmakers called for accountability after two people were shot and killed by federal agents, Tennessee’s elected officials — mostly Republican, but one Democrat — have applauded the occupation of Memphis or cooperated with the task force. Is it any wonder people outside Memphis don’t know about the shootings?
ICYMI
Thanks for reading The Daily Lookout. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.