Campaign

Trump Jr. to stump for ex-ambassador running for Tennessee Senate seat

Donald Trump Jr. will stump for Republican candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, who is running for Tennessee’s open Senate seat.

“Excited to head down to Tennessee later this month to campaign for my friend @BillHagertyTN! #TNSEN,” Trump Jr., President Trump’s eldest son, tweeted Tuesday.

Trump Jr. was a fixture on the campaign trail in the 2018 midterms, appearing with several Republican candidates at rallies to help boost their campaigns in a midterm cycle that saw Democrats retake the House and the GOP expand its Senate majority.

The appearance with Hagerty hints that Trump Jr. could reclaim that role as his father travels the country to promote his own reelection bid.

Hagerty is running for the seat that will be vacated by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is not running for reelection.

The president announced his endorsement for Hagerty in July, saying, “He is strong on crime, borders & our 2nd A.”

Before serving overseas, Hagerty worked as director of presidential appointments for the 2016 Trump transition team, served on former President George H.W. Bush’s Council on Competitiveness and was commissioner for Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development. He also worked for years in the private sector and co-founded a private equity investment firm. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election pollster and analyzer, rates the race as “solid” Republican.