Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said he was surprised when Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced his retirement from Congress.
Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his retirement on Wednesday, just one day after leading the House in a historic vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Golden said on a scale of 1-10 on how surprised he was by the news, it was a “9.9” for him.
“I didn’t have that on my bingo card,” Golden said during Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy. “Particularly with the great work that he’s done. I mean, he’s been the tip of the spear on trying to enforce what we all know is the worst problem that the country is now facing, which is what and who is coming across our border. And so he spent the last year and a half working on it. He’s been a wonderful partner.”
Golden described the “behind the scenes” work of lawmakers in Washington D.C., noting how the lifestyle is “tough.”
“I mean, look, the reality is that you and I both know that the DC life is tough and the amount of time that these guys spend away…We see them behind the scenes, right? It’s not as glamorous as many people might think,” Golden said. “These guys are on flights at eight o’clock at night, you’re landing at the Nashville airport, driving an hour and a half to your house. Your weekends are gone…I appreciate all of those that offer themselves for public service because it is not easy.”
Regarding finding a new Republican candidate for the upcoming August primary, Golden noted how the Tennessee GOP, by law, cannot take an active role in Republican primaries.
“The Republican Party stays out of Republican primaries. In fact, it’s in our bylaws that I can’t take an active role as long as there’s a Republican primary. So once there’s an “R” on the ballot, we’re out of it until the voters determine who they want to be the nominee,” Golden said.
Golden also explained how Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District is a “tough” district due to its size, noting how candidates must be prepared to raise at least between $2 and $4 million throughout the campaign in order to outpace Democrat candidate Megan Barry, the disgraced former mayor of Nashville.
“As they say, money is the mother’s milk of politics,” Golden said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Scott Golden” by Tennessee Republican Party.
