William Andrew Ogles IV (born June 18, 1971) is an American

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

politician and businessman who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Tennessee's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Jim Cooper since January 2003. Current boundaries As of the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, the 5th Distric ...

since 2023 and served as mayor of

Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia, Tennessee, C ...

, from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Ogles was born on June 18, 1971. He describes himself as "a

Maury County Maury County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia. Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro ...

native with deep family roots in Tennessee dating back to the founding of the state." Ogles attended

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together off ...

and graduated with a degree in political science.

Business and early political career

Ogles has worked as a restaurant operator and a real estate investor, later becoming involved as the

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

of the nonprofit Abolition International, which was established to combat

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

. His involvement in politics began when he became the first director of the Tennessee chapter of

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States funded by Charles Koch and formerly his brother David. As the Koch brothers' primary political advocacy group, it is one ...

, a conservative political advocacy group. He later became involved with the Laffer Center, an organization that advocates for

fiscally conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An ...

tax policy. Ogles made two unsuccessful bids for elected office, a run for

Tennessee's 4th congressional district The 4th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in southern Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Scott DesJarlais since January 2011. Current boundaries The district lies mostly in the southern part of Middle ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and a run for

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

in 2006, losing in the Republican primary both times. Initially considered a potential contender for the

2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Republican Bill Lee was elected with nearly 60% of the vote. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Haslam was term-limited, and is ...

, Ogles instead saw his major first electoral success when he was elected mayor of

in the August 2, 2018, general election, defeating incumbent Charlie Norman. During his mayoralty, Ogles criticized Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for not restricting local school boards' ability to implement

mask mandates During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95, FFP2, surgical, and cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In co ...

in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, calling for the state legislature to pass legislation to support his proposition in a special session. Ogles initially filed to run for a second term as county mayor, but withdrew to enter the race for the redrawn U.S. House of Representatives seat in

U.S. House of Representatives

Election

On August 4, 2022, Ogles won the Republican primary for the 5th congressional district. He faced Democratic nominee Heidi Campbell in the November general election. The district was previously a Democratic stronghold centered on Nashville, but has been redrawn as an area that voted for Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

by 12 percentage points in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

. This was done by splitting Democratic-heavy Nashville into three congressional districts. On August 30, Ogles was succeeded as county mayor by

Sheila Butt Sheila Keckler Butt (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician from Columbia, Tennessee, currently serving as the Mayor of Maury County.Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. Ogles was endorsed by the

House Freedom Caucus A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, the

House Republican Conference The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily pub ...

's farthest-right bloc.

Tenure

On January 1, 2023, Ogles signed a letter by fellow representatives Scott Perry and

Chip Roy Charles Eugene "Chip" Roy (born August 7, 1972) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's . A member of the Republican Party, Roy took office on January 3, 2019. Before his election to Congress, he s ...

expressing opposition to fellow Republican

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...

in the upcoming house speakership election after McCarthy did not accept all their proposed House rules changes. On January 3, his first day in office, Ogles joined far-right House Republicans in voting against McCarthy on the first three ballots. This was the first time since

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

that a speaker was not elected on the first ballot. On January 6, after days of negotiations, Ogles voted for McCarthy on the 12th ballot, joining the rest of Tennessee's Republican

delegation Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...

. Shortly after being sworn in, Ogles was appointed to the

House Financial Services Committee The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...

Political positions

Ogles opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. In a 2022 interview, he downplayed the need for exceptions in an abortion bill, calling them "red herrings". In June 2022, after the repeal of ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'', Ogles said, "The next thing we have to do is go after gay marriage." Ogles has called for the

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

of President Joe Biden and Vice President

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

, and for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

charges to be brought against Secretary of Homeland Security

Alejandro Mayorkas Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas (born November 24, 1959) is a Cuban-American government official and attorney who has been serving as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security since February 2, 2021. During the Obama administration, h ...

. He has called for the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

to be defunded. Ogles denies the legitimacy of the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

Personal life

Ogles lives on a farm in

Culleoka, Tennessee Culleoka is an unincorporated community in the southeastern corner of Maury County, Tennessee, United States. located southeast of Columbia. The population was 4,964 in 2010 and in 2016, the estimated population was 5,078. Culleoka was establish ...

with his wife, Monica, and their three children.

Electoral history

References

External links

Congressman Andy Ogles
official U.S. House website
Andy Ogles for Congress
campaign website * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogles, Andy Living people 1971 births People from Culleoka, Tennessee Middle Tennessee State University alumni 21st-century American politicians Tennessee Republicans Far-right politicians in the United States Heads of county government in Tennessee Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections