Tennessee Republican Party Chair Calls Williamson County ‘Battleground’

“I hate to say it, Williamson County is a battleground,” Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden told a crowd of some 70 GOP faithful at Franklin’s Amruth Sports Bar on Tuesday night, just one week before midterm election day.

Many of those in attendance at the rally were local party officials, die-hard supporters, and elected officials. U.S. House Majority Whip Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer was also invited to the event meant to support 5th Congressional District Republican nominee Charlie Hatcher and 9th Congressional District nominee Brent Taylor. 

Taylor’s appearance came hours after Williamson Scene sister publication the Nashville Scene broke a story that Taylor had sent unsolicited nude photos as recently as 2021. Taylor, 58, admitted to sexting people outside of his marriage and dismissed his actions as “youthful indiscretions,” claiming that it was consensual.

Taylor, a sitting state senator, did not bring up the incident during his remarks to voters, and before the event, he dodged questions from the Williamson Scene about how many people he had sent those messages to and how many times it had occurred.

“It really doesn't matter whether it was one or 21. One was too many,” Taylor told the Williamson Scene. 

Though he wouldn’t specifically answer if this was one incident or more than one, upon repeated questioning he referred to “incidents.”

“Going through the different incidents and going through each one of them really doesn't serve any purpose,” Taylor said. “Just know that the indiscretion was inappropriate. I shouldn't have done it, whether it was one or 21 really doesn't matter, and I'm willing to be held accountable for the past indiscretions.”

An hour before his Franklin appearance, Taylor sat for an interview with right-wing radio host Matt Murphy, who called the Scene’s reporting a “hit piece.” Taylor called the reporting on his actions "merely a distraction,” adding, “I don’t think voters really care about the issues that I may have caused my family.”

At the Williamson County rally, Missouri U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, framed the election as a “spiritual battle.”

“The time has come for us to reassert our trust in God. The time has come for us to realize that we need Him more than He needs us. The time has come to turn to God for the healing of America. These men are going to be part of that healing process,” Alford said of Hatcher and Taylor, offering the only vague nod towards Taylor’s scandal. 

“Move forward. Look to the finish line. Don't pay attention to the distraction, the noise, and the buzz on that radio. Dial in to what is true and what is right and what is just in America.”

Taylor told Republicans at the event he thinks it’s important to send a businessman to Congress. Taylor is a former funeral director who touts having created the “largest family-owned funeral operation in the Mid-South.”

“God willing, and with y'all's votes, just in seven days, I'm going to go to Congress. We're going to give the Democrat socialists hell. Now I've got one Democrat socialist opponent we have to get through first, that’s [state Rep.] Justin Pearson,” Taylor said.

Taylor later told reporters that Pearson “would be a constant embarrassment” if elected to Congress. 

Hatcher also spoke at the event, calling his August defeat of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles the “hardest primary” in the state and saying he now faces the “hardest general” election against Democratic nominee Chaz Molder.

“The way of life that I have … the freedoms that I enjoy; that's at stake here,” Hatcher said. “If we start floating towards socialism and communism, what's next?"

Neither Pearson nor Molder are “communists.” Emmer also characterized Democrats as communists in his message to voters.

“We're going to keep working hard to deal with [economic issues], but you know what? Not enough to vote for a communist,” Emmer said. 

Emmer’s remarks mostly focused on culture war issues but briefly shifted to affordability — the top concern of voters in the 5th and 9th districts –– but he did not offer solutions.

“There's a ton of good news in our economy, but what Republicans and Donald Trump agree on is four-dollar gas and six-dollar diesel is totally unacceptable,” Emmer said, failing to mention Trump’s unilateral tariffs and war that are behind most of America’s rising cost of living. 

Emmer criticized the press, who he claimed are “against us every single day,” and “refuses to report all the good things that are going on,” and characterized the election as being one of “good versus evil.”

Emmer refused to take questions from the Williamson Scene following the event, saying that the national media was to blame for his unwillingness to speak to even local reporters about the importance of stumping for candidates in Williamson County.

Another speaker, North Carolina U.S. Rep. Addison McDowell, attempted to calm nerves around widespread polling that shows unfavorable odds toward Republicans nationally, while also defending the GOP’s claim of patriotism. 

“We're not a threat to democracy. We love this country, and we're not going to stop at anything to defend it,” McDowell said.

“Williamson County is the linchpin of politics in Tennessee. Where Williamson County goes, the rest of the state pretty much follows,” Williamson County Republican Party Chairman Steve Hickey told the Williamson Scene.

“We’ve had some very important people from the national political party here to try to whip the vote and get Williamson County residents engaged and involved and realize that this is an important election because, as Scott Golden said, this is our opportunity to go 9-0 in Tennessee [with the redistricted congressional seats].”