Chris Morris, a State Executive Committee Member of the Tennessee Republican Party (TNGOP), joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his concern regarding the TNGOP’s failure to abide by the Republican bylaws of the state of Tennessee.
Morris said to be what is called a “bona fide Republican,” the Republican bylaws “clearly state an individual must have voted “three out of the last four times in the statewide primaries as a Republican” to be on the ballot.
“I have a beef with Republicans, and especially on the State Executive Committee, not wanting to follow the Republican bylaws of the state of Tennessee,” Morris said.
As noted by Leahy, the same bona fide bylaw was what disqualified candidates Robbie Starbuck, Morgan Ortagus, and Baxter Lee from the August 4 GOP primary ballot in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District in 2022.
However, Morris says that the TNGOP has been approving candidates for the ballot – specifically in school board races – that have only voted Republican one out of four times, which does not need the bona fide status.
Morris said the Political Subcommittee of the State Executive Committee voted 9-1 “in favor of letting the people who did not meet bona fide status on to the Republican ticket.”
“We’re not following our bylaws…Article 9 of the Tennessee Republican bylaws,” Morris explained. When the bylaws clearly state, no matter how you look at it, you have got to be three out of four. No ifs, no ands, no buts.”
Morris said the State Executive Committee is holding a special called session this Saturday, January 27, where he hopes the subcommittee’s 9-1 vote will be reversed.
“I hope that that decision by them gets reversed because the way they’re doing it, it’s not working,” Morris added.
Listen to the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Republican State Executive Committeeman Chris Morris” by First American Bible Project.
