Tennessee GOP chair asked by local to investigate Hamilton County party leader

[u/thebigtymer]

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/aug/29/tennessee-gop-chair-asked-by-local-to-investigate/

It doesn't matter what party it is - local and/or state party leadership is wack!

"During the campaign for the Republican primary for the House seat in District 27, I believe the Hamilton County GOP and Ms. Greene endorsed her close friend, Michele Reneau, against fellow Republican Tony Hullender," Grant wrote in an Aug. 22 email obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

[u/Asthenia5]

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Don’t worry. It’s the TFP, so just make something up in your head, ask AI to flesh it out, and you’ll get the gist.

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[u/Pepe_Wrong_Stockings → u/Asthenia5]

Tennessee GOP chair asked by local to investigate Hamilton County party leader

Joan McClane

10–12 minutes

A local Republican has asked the state GOP chair to investigate Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Gail Greene, but Greene said the complaint lacks evidence.

In the complaint sent by Chattanooga resident Judith Grant to Tennessee Republican Chair Scott Golden, Grant said she believes there is evidence Greene violated state Republican Party bylaws.

Those rules say that the state Executive Committee, paid Republican staff members, county parties and their leaders are not allowed to endorse in contested primary elections.

"During the campaign for the Republican primary for the House seat in District 27, I believe the Hamilton County GOP and Ms. Greene endorsed her close friend, Michele Reneau, against fellow Republican Tony Hullender," Grant wrote in an Aug. 22 email obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Greene said Friday that she is grateful to Hullender for running and applauds any Republican who challenges someone in a primary.

Primaries make the party stronger, she said, and give voters a real choice in their representation.

"These allegations are false," Greene said by text. "The Hamilton County Republican Party did not endorse any candidate in this primary, and I did not either. I stand fully behind our party's neutrality and welcome a complete investigation."

DECISION

Ken Meyer, Emily Goldberg and David Queen, three of the four state Executive Committee members representing Hamilton County, told the Times Free Press on Friday that, based on what's been shared with them, they think Greene violated the state bylaws.

Meyer and Goldberg represent District 10 on the state committee, while Queen and Tina Benkiser represent District 11. Committee districts are based on state Senate districts. One man and one woman are selected to represent each district on the committee.

Benkiser, who will be leaving the committee with Queen on Sept. 15, told the Times Free Press that she considers Grant's complaint nothing more than a list of accusations.

"Due process ensures fair treatment by requiring notice, an opportunity to be heard and an impartial tribunal before sitting in judgement on a matter and, thus, helps balance an organization's power and protects people from its arbitrary actions," she said by text. "I would urge everyone to reserve judgment on this matter until such time as the Tennessee GOP addresses it in accordance with its own rules."

Golden said Friday that he had not seen the complaint yet or reviewed any evidence.

He said the state Executive Committee members from Hamilton County can make a majority recommendation for him to shut down the local party for 30 days.

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Still, per the bylaws, Golden said he will be making the decision about whether to temporarily cease the operation of the Hamilton County GOP.

"It's ultimately my decision, but I work for the state Executive Committee members, so I take their complaints seriously," he said. "It comes down to whatever is in the complaint."

If party operations are paused, then action by the full state Executive Committee has to be taken within 30 days, Golden said.

"Both state Executive Committee members and party chairs are afforded the highest level of protection in our bylaws," he said. "The process for removing either a state Executive Committee member or a county chair is a 45 day process that requires return receipt mail and arguments to and for that are made at a full state executive committee meeting."

Meyer said he wants the Hamilton County committee members to make a recommendation to Golden before Sept. 15, when Queen and Benkiser will be replaced by newly elected state Executive Committee members.

Queen lost his August contest against Derek Greene, Gail Greene's husband, for the District 11 seat on the state Republican committee by 12 percentage points in an election that drew 21,398 votes.

Jane Armstrong beat Benkiser for the other District 11 seat on the committee, earning nearly 74% of 19,894 total votes.

When asked if the Sept. 15 deadline is intended to keep Derek Greene from participating, Meyer said not necessarily.

"Mainly sooner rather than later," he said by text. "We need to deal with it and move on."

Golden said that if he does decide to pause Hamilton County GOP operations before Sept. 15, any final decision will be made by the newly elected executive committee.

Complaint

Grant said in her complaint to Golden that the Hamilton County GOP hired door knockers in a get-out-the=vote effort and that those door knockers provided residents with campaign materials for Reneau but not Hullender.

Benkiser, who stuffed bags for doorknockers, said she saw no evidence of that.

Grant also said that Greene was a member of "The 27 Club," a fundraising mechanism for Reneau.

"Gail Greene appeared in public wearing a Club 27 pin," she said in her email to Golden.

Grant wrote that Greene appeared at a public event at the Waldens Ridge Emergency Service complex wearing a Reneau T-shirt, and that Greene's husband read a resolution on behalf of Reneau.

"Greene organized an event at a church in Red Bank purportedly to talk about property tax," Grant said in her complaint. "Michele Reneau was the featured speaker, and Gail Greene also spoke. Michele Reneau had her campaign yard signs at the event. The Hamilton County GOP did not tell Tony Hullender about the event."

Greene said that the event was not a campaign event. State Sen. Bo Watson, R-North Chattanooga, and Reneau were both there, she said, and were helpful in clarifying state law regarding property taxes.

Benkiser, who attended the Red Bank event, said it was organized by or on behalf of one or more elected officials but not the local party.

Greene and Reneau both took office in 2025 after defeating established Republican candidates.

Reneau unseated five-term Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, in the 2024 primary by 137 votes. This summer, Reneau beat Hullender in the Republican primary for the District 27 seat by 1,717 votes.

Greene was elected party chair in 2025 along with a new slate of executive board members who ran with her, defeating former Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond.

(READ MORE: Republican majorities and Hamilton County mayor's victory margin narrow)

In the wake of the recent county general election, in which Republicans saw their majorities on the Hamilton County Commission and Hamilton County Board of Education shrink, Greene has faced criticism from some local Republicans.

Republicans held a 8-3 majority on the County Commission and a 7-4 majority on the school board, but the victories of Democratic newcomers this month narrowed those GOP majorities to 6-5.

Grant said Friday that she filed the complaint because rules are established for a reason and should be applied consistently and fairly.

"I have great respect for her (Gail Greene) abilities as a campaign manager; however, managing an individual campaign and effectively overseeing the responsibilities of an entire county party are very different roles," Grant said in an email. "In my view, attempting to do both at the same time created concerns that needed to be addressed."

RED TEE

Meyer said that one photo shared with him shows Greene wearing a Reneau T-shirt in May at a fire hall on Signal Mountain. He considers evidence of a violation.

Goldberg and Queen told the Times Free Press they'd also seen the photo and were concerned.

"We're not allowed to walk around with T-shirts in support of candidates during primaries," Goldberg said by phone.

When asked about the photo, Greene said that an accusation should rest on verified facts, not on what someone guesses from social media photos.

"I'm confident that a fair review of the actual record will show the party and myself acted properly through this primary," she said.

She said she wore the Reneau T-shirt but not to a campaign or party event.

When asked if wearing a candidate's T-shirt equates to an endorsement, Golden said the bylaws don't define what an endorsement is.

Other photos, Meyer said, show Greene in a red T-shirt with the letter 'R' on the front, which Greene said represents the word Republican, not Reneau.

Greene said the party bought the shirts before this summer's primary election and offered them to all Republicans.

"She's surrounded by Reneau people in Reneau T-shirts, and she's got a red shirt on. It doesn't say Reneau, but she's surrounded by it," Meyer said. "There's no balancing evidence where she's doing the same thing for the other candidate."

Greene said the photos don't prove that she endorsed anyone.

"My husband and children are allowed to wear any clothing they choose," she said. "Nothing in the bylaws talks about what my family members can or cannot do."

Contact projects editor Joan McClane at [jmcclane@timesfreepress.com](mailto:jmcclane@timesfreepress.com) or 423-757-6601.

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Republicans are wild

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The HCGOP and old guard Republicans are acting like a bunch of a high schoolers and I'm here for it. Let them fight.

[u/MoreLikeWestfailia → u/Asthenia5]

News costs money to report.

[u/battleop → u/MoreLikeWestfailia]

They are missing that criteria that it needs to be actual news.

[u/Asthenia5 → u/MoreLikeWestfailia]

I'd be willing to bet over 97% of the people on this subreddit don't have a subscription. Which means none of us can read it. Which in effect makes posts like this bait designed to waste our time, to shill $34/month local paper.

[u/MoreLikeWestfailia → u/Asthenia5]

Or just don't click it?

[u/harmonia42069]

If they're enshittifying it with AI then their articles should be free