State Executive Committee Upholds County GOP Reorganization Results

The Elevate 2025 slate was affirmed as the winner of the March 4 Williamson County GOP reorganization convention following a meeting on Saturday of the Tennessee Republican Party's State Executive Committee in Mt. Juliet.

As previously reported, Elevate, led by now-Chairman Steve Hickey, won all of the elected party positions on March 4, but the results were quickly contested by the Williamson County Conservatives slate, led by Williamson County Commissioner Brian Clifford.

“We thank the Tennessee GOP's State Executive Committee (SEC) for their thorough examination of the facts surrounding the historic March 4th Williamson County Reorganization Convention,” Hickey said in a news release.

In an emailed statement, the Williamson County Conservatives called the SEC's meeting and ruling a “sham,” a “cover up,” including a “Soviet-style brief discussion of our appeal.” Clifford says the group did not get an opportunity to share the details of their appeal with the committee.

At the time of publishing, the Tennessee GOP has not returned a request for comment.

The Williamson County Conservatives statement also called Hickey “illegitimate,” and characterized the county party as “a subordinate organization to Gary Humble's Tennessee Stands.”

“I’m disappointed that [the committee] upheld this election with all the issues at hand and because the full GOP state executive committee wasn’t afforded the chance to hear the complete contest,” Clifford tells the Williamson Scene. “Nonetheless, our larger campaign was and is to protect our voters, fight for election integrity and to keep primary elections in our county. That campaign continues regardless of this decision, and we hope to see ultimate victory for Williamson County and all Tennessee voters through the Tennessee General Assembly next week with the passage of HB0855.”

That bill, HB0855/SB0799, centers around another hotly contested topic among Republicans – voting in partisan elections through primaries or caucuses. In a Senate State and Local Government Committee meeting on April 2, Hickey testified against the bill which would require primary elections, confirming the Elevate slate’s views on caucus elections which they had previously avoided stating before the county GOP reorganization. Williamson County Conservatives' secretary candidate Kimberly Calcote spoke in favor of the bill during the same committee. Clifford had previously spoken in favor of securing primaries before the county GOP reorganization.

The bill has already passed the senate 26-3 and is set to be heard in the House today, Monday, April 14. Williamson County legislators Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin) are the sponsors of the bill.

UPDATE: The bill ultimately passed the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday.