(The Center Square) – Mark Green’s ex-wife is endorsing Tennessee state Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, for Green’s former 7th Congressional District post, according to a release sent out by the Barrett campaign on Monday morning.
Barrett is running for the seat vacated by Green earlier this year. Green is endorsing Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services.
“After spending some time with Jody and Holly Barrett, I believe Jody to be the best candidate to serve TN-07 in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Guenther-Green said in the release. “With his legislative and professional experience coupled with a deep grounding in faith, I am confident he is well prepared politically and spiritually to meet the demands and challenges of Washington, D.C., without losing his heart for the people who elect him.”
Other candidates in the Republican primary are state Reps. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, and Lee Reeves, R-Franklin, Stuart Cooper, Adolph Agbéko Dagan, Mason Foley, Jason D. Knight, Joe Leurs and Stewart Parks.
State reps. Vincent Dixie, Bo Mitchell, Aftyn Behn and Nashville businessman Darden Hunter Copeland are vying for the Democratic nomination.
Four people are running as independent candidates: Teresa “Terri” Christie, Bobby Dodge, Robert James Sutherby and Jon Thorp.
Copeland leads all candidates in fundraising, according to the latest reports from the Federal Election Commission. He raised $306,600.47 in individual contributions. He also received $1,000 from the Common Ground PAC and $2,000 from BlueWave America. Copeland loaned his campaign $100,000, according to the report.
“More than 10,500 people have invested in Darden’s campaign for Congress because they believe he is the best candidate to go to Washington and hold the billionaires, bigots and bullies accountable,” Kevin Teets, Copeland’s campaign manager, said in a news release.
Two Republicans also made large loans to their campaign. Bulso loaned more than $493,000 to his election effort. He raised just over $56,000.
Reeves loaned his campaign $300,000 and has raised more than $269,000 from individual contributions, leading all Republican candidates.
Barrett has raised $241,872.71. Most of it, more than $236,000, came from individuals and $5,685.64 came from political committees.
Van Epps has raised $343,226.56 and all but $15,500 of it was from individuals, according to the Federal Election Commission report.
Early voting began Sept. 17 and ends Friday.
More than 20,000 people in the seventh district have cast their ballots, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office–11,179 Republicans and 9,795 Democrats.
The general election is Dec. 2.
