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Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

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Opinion: Hamilton County GOP chair warns against negative campaigning

Staff File Photo By Olivia Ross/ State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood speaks during a discussion on the upcoming legislative session at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce in December 2023.
Staff File Photo By Olivia Ross/ State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood speaks during a discussion on the upcoming legislative session at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce in December 2023. Staff File Photo By Olivia Ross/ State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood speaks during a discussion on the upcoming legislative session at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce in December 2023.

The chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party has taken the unusual step of calling on individual county primary campaigns “to clean up their act.”

Though Mark Harrison did not mention names in the statement issued last week, he said “a type of campaigning has been brought to bear that is not acceptable here in Hamilton County. … We will not stand for attacking leaders in our party with mistruths and fearmongering.”

The county Republican primary campaigns in the upcoming Aug. 1 election are but two — the state Senate race in District 10 between incumbent Sen. Todd Gardenhire and challenger Ed LeCompte and the state House race in District 27 between incumbent Rep. Patsy Hazlewood and challenger Michele Reneau.

Since both Gardenhire and Hazlewood are leaders in the party — as Senate Judiciary Committee chair and House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee and House Council on Pensions chairs, respectively — one might conclude Harrison was referring to LeCompte and Reneau.