The person behind the name
Charlie Hatcher’s public career runs from a livestock veterinary practice and a family dairy in College Grove, through ten years as Tennessee’s State Veterinarian and nearly seven as Commissioner of Agriculture, to the August 2026 primary in which he unseated a sitting congressman. [1][8]
Neither the Governor’s office nor the department’s biography states a birth date, and this profile does not assert one. The Williamson Herald’s account of his July 2026 talk to the Franklin Noon Rotary Club records his own account: that he is one of five children of Abe and Jacqueline Hatcher, that he attended College Grove and Bethesda schools and was in the first graduating class of Page High School in 1976, and that he married his wife, Sharon, in 1978. The Governor’s 2018 announcement describes him as a tenth-generation farmer and a fifth-generation Tennessee farmer who lives in College Grove with Sharon, then his wife of 40 years, and whose son and daughter live on the family farm with their families and work in agriculture. [30][2][38]
Education and professional preparation
The department’s own biography of the commissioner, archived in February 2025 and reproduced word for word by the Economic Club of Nashville for his April 2022 appearance, records a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Middle Tennessee State University in 1980 and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1984. He founded Rock-N-Country Veterinary Services in College Grove in 1993, a practice specializing in livestock that his daughter Jennifer, also a veterinarian, now manages. In a 2024 University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture interview he said that “For over two decades, I worked predominantly as a livestock veterinarian, specializing in dairy and beef cattle”, with the Lee family’s Triple L Ranch among his clients. License records were not part of this review. [38][5][6]
The dairy
By his own account to the Institute of Agriculture, the Hatcher family has farmed at Arno and College Grove since 1819 and still has the original milk license the state issued to his grandfather in 1926. The Governor’s 2018 announcement and the department’s biography say Hatcher Family Dairy was established in 1831 and began bottling its own milk in 2007; the dairy’s website gives 2009 for the start of on-farm bottling. He told the Rotary Club that the decision followed a moment in 2006 when he and his brother concluded that selling to a cooperative could not sustain the farm. The 2018 announcement also lists him as general managing partner of Rock-N-Roll Farms and Battle Mountain Farm; his son Charles is president of the dairy. [6][2][38][7][30][5]
A public life that began in the State Veterinarian’s office
He became State Veterinarian in 2009, a post the Governor’s 2018 announcement describes as protecting the health and welfare of animals within the state and promoting the marketability of animals and animal products. On December 3, 2018, at the Tennessee Farm Bureau convention in Franklin, Governor-elect Bill Lee named him Commissioner of Agriculture; he was sworn in as the state’s 38th commissioner on January 19, 2019 and served until his retirement, announced on September 3, 2025 and effective with Andy Holt’s appointment on October 1, 2025. The Governor’s office counted “nearly seven years of service as commissioner, and more than 21 years of state service”; the ten years as State Veterinarian and the commissionership account for about seventeen of those years, and none of the documents reviewed itemizes the remainder. [2][38][1][3][4]
He filed his statement of candidacy on October 15, 2025, confirmed the run to the Nashville Banner the same week and launched it with a fundraiser at Battle Mountain Farm in November. In the August 6, 2026 Republican primary for the redrawn 5th District he defeated Representative Andy Ogles by 36,546 votes to 32,096, 53.2 percent, carrying eleven of the district’s seventeen counties. He faces Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, the Democratic nominee, on November 3, 2026. [10][26][27][8][9][25]
Life & public service
From a College Grove veterinary practice and dairy to the State Veterinarian’s office, a cabinet post under Governor Lee and a primary against a sitting congressman, the documented milestones show how his record was built.
Avian influenza in Lincoln County
As State Veterinarian he announced the department’s response to an H7 highly pathogenic avian influenza detection at a commercial breeder facility of 73,500 birds, with the facility and about 30 other farms quarantined: “With this HPAI detection, we are moving quickly and aggressively to prevent the virus from spreading.” [22]
Named to the Lee cabinet
On December 3, 2018 Governor-elect Bill Lee announced him as Commissioner of Agriculture at the Tennessee Farm Bureau convention in Franklin. [2]
A record round of Agricultural Enterprise Fund grants
Just over $951,000 to 28 businesses, the largest number of recipients and the highest total in the program’s history. [20]
Avian influenza again
H5N1 confirmed in an Obion County backyard flock; the State Veterinarian ordered a statewide halt to poultry shows and sales, an order Hatcher called “never an easy decision, especially during fair season”. [21]
A new district and a primary win
The General Assembly redrew the district in a May special session (Public Chapter 3 of the second extraordinary session) and, in Public Chapter 2, waived the district-residency rule for 2026, which let him run although his home fell outside the new lines; on August 6 he defeated Representative Andy Ogles, 36,546 to 32,096, and received President Trump’s endorsement the next morning. [13][14][29][8][36]
Accomplishments, in the record
State press releases, bill records, the Secretary of State’s canvass and contemporaneous reporting establish the following work. Outcomes are described at the level those records support, with shared credit where a measure was the Governor’s or the General Assembly’s initiative.
Ten years as State Veterinarian
The Governor’s 2018 announcement and the department’s biography describe the office as protecting the health and welfare of animals within the state and promoting the marketability of animals and animal products; the Governor’s office records that he held it for ten years before his cabinet appointment. [2][38][1]
The most visible test on record came in March 2017, when tests confirmed H7 highly pathogenic avian influenza at a commercial chicken breeding facility in Lincoln County with a flock of 73,500 birds. The facility and about 30 other poultry farms within roughly six miles were quarantined, and Hatcher said: “Animal health is our top priority,” adding, “With this HPAI detection, we are moving quickly and aggressively to prevent the virus from spreading.” The department’s 2022 release on a later outbreak notes that no transmission to humans was reported during the 2017 response. [22][21]
Thirty-eighth Commissioner of Agriculture
Sworn in on January 19, 2019, he led the department for nearly seven years. He described the job to the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture as extensive travel, meetings and calls, with the primary responsibility of serving, supporting and promoting agriculture and forestry throughout the state, and its hard part as providing good customer service with the right balance of regulatory function. [38][1][6]
On his retirement the Governor said that “Under his leadership, the Department of Agriculture has made significant investments in our rural communities and safeguarded our food supply.” The same release credits the department during his tenure with record investments in food and fiber supply chains, rural businesses, conservation and rural jobs while supporting nearly 70,000 farming families, and quotes Hatcher’s own claim that “Together, we have made the largest investments in rural Tennessee’s history, expanded opportunities for young people through FFA, 4H, and education partnerships, and safeguarded farmland for future generations.” Those are the administration’s characterizations; this review did not measure them against prior administrations. [1]
The Coronavirus Agricultural and Forestry Business Fund
On August 14, 2020 the Governor and the state’s Financial Stimulus Accountability Group assigned $50 million of federal Coronavirus Relief Fund money to a Department of Agriculture program for agricultural and forestry businesses, with applications taken August 17–31. The department announced the awards on September 22, 2020: more than 1,000 applications requesting more than $335 million, about 80 percent of them funded, with priority for meat processors, forestry businesses, milk processors and agricultural fairs. [18][19]
Hatcher’s statement: “We made an effort to spread these dollars statewide, and 60 percent of fund recipients were small businesses with an annual revenue of less than $1 million per year.” The money was federal and the allocation the Governor’s; the department established the fund, made awards in four categories of pandemic impact and response, and worked with the accounting and business advisory firm Horne Group to allocate the money. [19]
A record Agricultural Enterprise Fund round
On June 8, 2021 the Governor and the commissioner announced the largest number of Agricultural Enterprise Fund recipients and the highest award in the program’s history: just over $951,000 to 28 agricultural, food and forestry businesses, from meat processors and sawmills to a distillery. Hatcher: “This record-making round of funding will effect businesses and economies in nearly every county in Tennessee,” adding an invitation to apply. [20]
The release puts the fund’s cumulative awards at nearly $5.3 million, leveraging more than $82 million in economic development since its launch; the Governor’s remark that the fund had shown results “in just four years” places that launch around 2017, before Hatcher’s January 2019 appointment. The program was inherited, not created, under him, and the 2021 round was its largest to that date. [20]
The 2022 avian-influenza order
After H5N1 was confirmed in an Obion County backyard flock on samples tested in Nashville and Ames, Iowa, the State Veterinarian ordered an immediate statewide halt to poultry shows, exhibitions and sales at livestock markets, flea markets and swap meets, quarantined the farm and set a 20-kilometer surveillance zone that reached into Kentucky. Hatcher: “Issuing an order like this is never an easy decision, especially during fair season,” describing it as an effort to protect all domesticated poultry in a state whose broiler receipts the release put at $376.2 million in 2021. The order was the State Veterinarian’s under the commissioner’s department. [21]
The Farmland Preservation Act
Senate Bill 207, carried by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson with House Majority Leader William Lamberth’s House Bill 1325, passed the Senate 27–4 on March 13, 2025 and the House 84–8 on April 16, and was signed on May 12, 2025 as Public Chapter 470. It establishes a fund, administered by the Department of Agriculture, for programs that preserve farmland and forestland, including a grant program for conservation easements. [16][17]
At the signing Hatcher said: “Tennessee is losing productive farm and forest land at an alarming rate. Once that land is converted to other uses, it doesn’t change back.” Representative Greg Vital, who carried the fund through the House, put the loss at 240 acres a day. The measure was the Governor’s initiative and the legislative leaders’ bill; the commissioner’s role was to partner in its design and to administer the fund. [17]
Unseating an incumbent
The Secretary of State’s canvass of the August 6, 2026 Republican primary records 36,546 votes for Hatcher and 32,096 for Representative Andy Ogles across the seventeen counties of the redrawn 5th District, 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent, a margin of 4,450. Hatcher carried eleven counties; Williamson County, where he took 10,145 votes to 8,369, supplied 1,776 of the margin, and he edged Ogles in the incumbent’s home county of Maury, 4,831 to 4,624. Ogles won Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lewis, Obion and Stewart counties. [8][35]
NBC News counted Ogles as the ninth House member, and one of three Republicans, to lose renomination in 2026, the most in a year without decennial redistricting since 1970 by the Vital Statistics on Congress count it cited. [33]
What the ratings measure
Heritage Action, the Club for Growth and the League of Conservation Voters score legislative votes, so a candidate who has never held legislative office has no scorecard from them. The NRA Political Victory Fund grades him AQ for the 5th District, which the fund defines as a pro-gun candidate whose rating rests solely on his answers to its questionnaire because he has no voting record on Second Amendment issues; it grades Chaz Molder F. The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections declined automated retrieval for this review, so no race rating is asserted here. [23]
Family & community
The Governor’s 2018 announcement identifies his wife as Sharon, then his wife of 40 years, and says his son and daughter live on the family farm with their families and work in agriculture; the department’s biography names them as Charles, president of Hatcher Family Dairy, and Jennifer, the veterinarian who manages his former practice. He told the Institute of Agriculture that his proudest accomplishment is that his whole family lives on the dairy farm and works in agriculture every day, and told the Franklin Noon Rotary Club that he married Sharon in 1978. [2][38][5][6][30]
The campaign’s biography calls him “an author, Christian family man”; the Williamson Herald describes him as an author, husband, father and grandfather and as a former member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. The university’s board page states that the Commissioner of Agriculture sits on that board as an ex officio voting member, the seat Andy Holt now holds, which is consistent with a trusteeship during his years as commissioner; a board roster from those years was not retrieved. The campaign gives a College Grove post-office box as its address. [24][30][40]
Neither the Governor’s office nor the campaign names a denomination or congregation; the campaign’s description of him as a Christian, and WSMV’s report that he credited his primary win in part to Christian conservative values, are the only statements on faith in the sources reviewed, and this profile makes no claim beyond them. Those sources document family, residence and public roles; they do not supply a verified record of charitable board service, and none is asserted. [24][36]
Mission & priorities
“You want something hard done right? Hire a farmer.” {24}
Hatcher’s campaign website is a single page, so the positions below are drawn from it and from his statements to reporters between October 2025 and August 2026, read against his departmental record where one bears on the item. These are stated positions, not completed accomplishments. [24]
01Agriculture and farmland
Told the Williamson Herald on the eve of the primary that Tennessee is losing roughly 10 acres of farmland an hour, that “Food security is national security” and that “I would do everything I could to support American agriculture and Tennessee agriculture, to improve profitability, to try to reduce the loss of family farms,” and that the H-2A guest-worker program should be made cheaper and more reliable for farms. The record shows the department he led administering the 2025 farmland-preservation fund, the 2020 pandemic relief fund and the Agricultural Enterprise Fund. [32][17][19][20]
02Alignment with President Trump
The campaign’s biography says “He says President Trump is the most impactful president of our lifetime, but that he needs some help from a farmer’s work-hard mentality.” Asked by WTVF in June 2026 whether there was any issue on which he disagreed with the President, he answered, “Not that I can think of,” and said he supported the tariffs and the war in Iran; in October 2025 he told the Banner he supported the trade war while blaming the previous administration for the shortage of trade deals and inflation for farmers’ input costs. [24][28][26]
03Spending, debt and the shutdown
During the autumn 2025 government shutdown he said Republicans should stand their ground and that “Expenses have to be cut”; at his launch he said “Work like a farmer, and you get things done. I don’t think Congress should be paid a dime when they are not working.” In August 2026 he pointed to the nearly $40 trillion national debt and named balancing the federal budget and reducing regulation among his priorities, while saying a member should bring “some federal money back to the district for worthy projects — infrastructure projects that need to be done.” No vote or bill tests these positions; he has not held legislative office. [26][27][32]
04Education
Supports dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and returning decisions to state and local governments: “The closer the government is to the people, the more efficient and better it is,” per the Williamson Herald. [32]
05Energy
Told CBS News after the primary, “We need to be energy independent,” and “I’m for all sources of energy. That makes sense to me.” The statement came in answer to questions about the clean-energy super PAC that spent on his behalf, addressed in the fuller record below. [34]
06Guns and abortion
The campaign site’s title line reads “Pro-Gun. Pro-Life. Pro-Trump. Farm Strong.” and he described himself to WTVF as a pro-life, pro-gun, pro-Trump conservative. The NRA Political Victory Fund’s AQ grade rests on his questionnaire answers; no legislative record exists on either issue. [24][28][23]
07Cost of living and infrastructure
Cited constituents working two or three jobs, an average first-time homebuyer now aged 40 and gasoline and energy prices he tied in part to the war in Iran, and named Williamson County traffic as a problem of growth outrunning infrastructure. [32]
08A “workhorse” in Congress
His stated method: “I consider myself a work horse and my opponent is a show horse,” he told WTVF; to the Herald he promised “statesmanship — bringing the level of politics back to stability” and told WSMV on primary night that he would keep visiting the district and provide good constituent services. The campaign’s superlatives about his own work ethic are claims this review did not measure. [28][32][36]
How to assess a proposal. A campaign plan states an intention. Enactment, implementation costs, replacement revenue, and measured results are separate questions. These priorities should be read alongside the legislative and voting history above.
The fuller record
A useful profile includes how a seat came open, the money behind a race, the limits of a claim and the candidate’s answers to material criticism. The items below are drawn from primary documents and independent reporting, with Hatcher’s response where one is on record.
How the seat came open
Andy Ogles, the former Maury County mayor elected to the redrawn Nashville-based 5th District in 2022, entered 2026 with a record that NBC News, CBS News and the Nashville Banner each described in similar terms: a post that “Muslims don’t belong in American society”, a deleted post that homosexuality has no place in America which he blamed on a staff member, late and incorrect campaign-finance filings, and an FBI seizure of his phone in 2024 in a campaign-finance investigation that ended in 2026 when the Justice Department agreed to return it; he was not charged. Hatcher, asked by WTVF whether he agreed with the deleted post, said “No, I don’t agree with that. I mean, I think Speaker Johnson said it best when he quoted scripture. He said the Bible says, ‘Love your neighbor.’” On August 6 the primary voters replaced the incumbent; Hatcher said Ogles called to concede and offered help with the transition, which he accepted. [33][34][35][26][28][29]
President Trump’s endorsement, both ways
President Trump endorsed Ogles in the autumn of 2025 (CBS News dates it to November; Hatcher said it came within a day or two of his own announcement), held a telephone rally for him the week before the primary, saying “Andy’s always been there when we needed him,” and urged a vote for him on Election Day. Hatcher told WTVF, “That endorsement came out very early. It was within a day or two that I announced, and President Trump, you know, politics is politics. He had to line up his votes in Congress,” and ran as a supporter of the President regardless. The morning after the result Trump posted “Good luck Charlie. Run tough and hard. You have my complete and total endorsement,” and described Ogles as “a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning, and was running against a Great ‘Trump’ Candidate.” Governor Lee, former Governor Bill Haslam, former Senator Bob Corker and former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue backed Hatcher through the primary. [34][35][28][36][37][29][33]
The clean-energy super PAC
Fox News reported on August 3, 2026 that Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a super PAC that its review of FEC filings found bankrolled by the Ripple chairman Chris Larsen with $6 million since February 2026, had spent roughly $1.3 million opposing Ogles and supporting Hatcher and had bought a further $700,000 of advertising; CBS News put its spending at around $2 million, and the Banner reported that the Freedom Caucus Fund spent hundreds of thousands on the other side. Ogles called it a group “interfering in a Republican primary” and said “When you have a group spending roughly $2 million in a Republican primary, that tells you how much money they’re making off of government subsidies, and they’re upset that the government welfare has been taken away from them”; the PAC’s chairman promised to “continue to punish members of either party who want to play politics with American jobs, energy security, and utility prices.” Hatcher told CBS he was “as surprised as anybody”, that his campaign could not coordinate with the group and that he “didn’t know anything about it”, while acknowledging its advertisements were “pretty good for me”. Independent expenditures are by law uncoordinated with a candidate. The Federal Election Commission’s itemized record for Hatcher, retrieved for this review, lists only the Freedom Caucus Fund: three media buys against him on July 23, 28 and 31, 2026 totaling $273,013.62. No Invest in Tomorrow Coalition item appeared under his candidate record at the time of review, so that group’s amounts rest on the reporting cited. [31][34][35][39]
A district drawn around his home
In a three-day special session in May 2026, called by Governor Lee after a Supreme Court decision the previous week that, as WSMV described it, stripped out a key provision of a 1965 federal civil-rights law that had allowed and sometimes required states to use race-based data in drawing congressional maps, the General Assembly repealed the bar on mid-decade redistricting and adopted a new congressional map, Public Chapter 3, that divides Memphis among three districts; the 5th lost its Davidson and Wilson County territory and now runs from western Williamson and Maury counties through rural West Tennessee to the Kentucky line and down the Mississippi into Memphis. The new lines excluded the homes of both Hatcher and Molder; a companion act, Public Chapter 2, created an exception to the one-year district-residency rule for the 2026 primary and grandfathered candidates already qualified in a district of the same number. Hatcher told WTVF: “It was a shock, but after I pondered it, you know, I’ve never quit anything in my life,” and told the Banner that “a lot of people in the new counties don’t know Andy Ogles or myself, but in these ag communities, if they know anybody, they know Charlie Hatcher from my almost seven years as commissioner of agriculture.” [13][14][15][29][28][35]
The money
Through July 17, 2026 his committee reported $719,502.95 in receipts, of which $582,289.48 came from individuals and $133,713.47 from the candidate himself, with $614,682.20 spent and $104,820.75 in cash on hand; CBS News reported that Ogles raised $613,135 to Hatcher’s $719,503 by the filings it cited. Molder, Columbia’s mayor since 2018 by his campaign’s account, filed his statement of candidacy on September 4, 2025; his committee reported $2,599,774.57 in receipts, $1,117,578.66 in disbursements and $1,482,195.91 in cash on hand with $32,785.77 in debts through the same date, and the Banner reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had committed to his campaign before the redraw and stayed with it afterwards. The general-election ballot also carries the independents James Johnson of Memphis and Micheál O’Leary of Nashville. [10][34][25][12][11][35][29][36]
Claims this review did not measure
The campaign’s statements that he “started eight successful businesses from scratch” and served “For the past seven years” as commissioner, his own that his department made “the largest investments in rural Tennessee’s history”, and the Governor’s office’s count of “more than 21 years of state service” are recorded here as claims: the state documents name four businesses, count the commissionership at nearly seven years, and do not itemize the earlier years of service. The 2018 state announcement and the department’s biography date the dairy’s bottling to 2007 and the dairy’s own website to 2009. No independent public poll of the general election was found among the sources reviewed. [24][1][2][38][7]
Questions & answers
Who is Charlie Hatcher?
Charlie Hatcher’s public career runs from a livestock veterinary practice and a family dairy in College Grove, through ten years as Tennessee’s State Veterinarian and nearly seven as Commissioner of Agriculture, to the August 2026 primary in which he unseated a sitting congressman. [1][8] Neither the Governor’s office nor the department’s biography states a birth date, and this profile does not assert one. The Williamson Herald’s account of his July 2026 talk to the Franklin Noon Rotary Club records his own account: that he is one of five children of Abe and Jacqueline Hatcher, that he attended College Grove and Bethesda schools and was in the first graduating class of Page High School in 1976, and that he married his wife, Sharon, in 1978. The Governor’s 2018 announcement describes him as a tenth-generation farmer and a fifth-generation Tennessee farmer who lives in College Grove with Sharon, then his wife of 40 years, and whose son and daughter live on the family farm with their families and work in agriculture. [30][2][38]
What office is Charlie Hatcher running for in 2026?
Who is Charlie Hatcher running against?
He filed his statement of candidacy on October 15, 2025, confirmed the run to the Nashville Banner the same week and launched it with a fundraiser at Battle Mountain Farm in November. In the August 6, 2026 Republican primary for the redrawn 5th District he defeated Representative Andy Ogles by 36,546 votes to 32,096, 53.2 percent, carrying eleven of the district’s seventeen counties. He faces Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, the Democratic nominee, on November 3, 2026. [10][26][27][8][9][25]
What are Charlie Hatcher's stated priorities?
Hatcher’s campaign website is a single page, so the positions below are drawn from it and from his statements to reporters between October 2025 and August 2026, read against his departmental record where one bears on the item. These are stated positions, not completed accomplishments. [24] The campaign lists: Agriculture and farmland; Alignment with President Trump; Spending, debt and the shutdown; Education; Energy; Guns and abortion; Cost of living and infrastructure; A “workhorse” in Congress.
What does the public record show?
State press releases, bill records, the Secretary of State’s canvass and contemporaneous reporting establish the following work. Outcomes are described at the level those records support, with shared credit where a measure was the Governor’s or the General Assembly’s initiative. The Governor’s 2018 announcement and the department’s biography describe the office as protecting the health and welfare of animals within the state and promoting the marketability of animals and animal products; the Governor’s office records that he held it for ten years before his cabinet appointment. [2][38][1]
How was this profile researched?
Reviewed September 17, 2026. This is a documented overview of publicly available biography, major actions and stated priorities. Hatcher has never held legislative office, so there are no roll calls, bills or legislative scorecards to read; his record is the department’s, and it is described at the level the state’s own releases support, with credit shared where a program or law was the Governor’s or the General Assembly’s initiative. Percentages of the vote were computed from the Secretary of State’s canvass; dollar figures are the Federal Election Commission’s summary totals, cited to the cent, or the amounts stated in the cited release or report. No birth date is asserted: the department’s biography and the Governor’s releases give none, and the one newspaper account of a birth year was not used. Veterinary license records, degree transcripts, business filings, the campaign’s count of businesses and personal financial disclosures were not part of this review. Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets, the Tennessee Lookout, the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections declined automated retrieval, and the Federal Election Commission’s public API was rate-limited after it returned Hatcher’s itemized independent-expenditure record, so no race rating is asserted and the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition’s spending rests on reporting. Filings and campaign pages may change after this review.
Sources & methodology
Government records anchor the profile: the Governor’s office and Department of Agriculture releases, the department’s own biography of the commissioner (an Internet Archive copy, the page having been removed after his retirement), the General Assembly’s bill records, the Tennessee Secretary of State’s canvasses (cited from Internet Archive copies because the state’s servers refuse automated requests) and the Federal Election Commission’s candidate and independent-expenditure records; professional biographies, one independent rating and the campaign’s own page are identified as such; reporting from NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, the Nashville Banner, the Williamson Herald and two Nashville television stations supplies the contest itself.
- 01Gov. Lee Announces Key Leadership Transition at TN Department of Agriculture (press release)Office of Governor Bill Lee, tn.gov · September 3, 2025
Hatcher’s retirement after nearly seven years as commissioner and more than 21 years of state service; sworn in as the 38th Commissioner in January 2019; ten years as State Veterinarian; Andy Holt appointed effective October 1, 2025; the Governor’s and Hatcher’s statements. Note: ten years as State Veterinarian plus nearly seven as commissioner account for about seventeen years; no document reviewed itemizes the remainder of the 21.Government record - 02Governor-Elect Bill Lee Announces Dr. Charlie Hatcher to Lead the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (press release)Office of Governor Bill Lee, tn.gov · December 3, 2018
The appointment announced at the Farm Bureau convention; State Veterinarian since 2009; Hatcher Family Dairy (established 1831, bottling since 2007), Rock-N-Roll Farms, Battle Mountain Farm and Rock-N-Country Veterinary Services; degrees; tenth-generation farmer; College Grove; wife Sharon, son and daughter.Government record - 03Former Commissioners of Agriculture, State of Tennessee, 1872–presentTennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · Accessed September 17, 2026
The department’s roll of commissioners: Charlie Hatcher, Williamson County, 2019–2025, between Jai Templeton and Andy Holt.Government record - 04Commissioner and Staff — Tennessee Department of AgricultureTennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · Accessed September 17, 2026
Andy Holt sworn in as the 39th Commissioner in October 2025; the page still serves the department’s 2020 photograph of Hatcher used as this profile’s portrait.Government record - 05Dr. Charlie Hatcher, Tennessee’s Commissioner of Agriculture (speaker biography)Economic Club of Nashville · April 5, 2022
Speaker biography for his April 5, 2022 appearance, identical in text to the department’s own biography (source 38): sworn in January 19, 2019; Rock-N-Country Veterinary Services founded 1993 and now managed by his daughter Jennifer; dairy bottling since 2007 with his son Charles as president; D.V.M. 1984 and B.S. 1980; the College Grove farm.Professional or biographical source - 06Outstanding in Their Field: Charlie Hatcher (alumni interview)University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture · July 23, 2024
Hatcher’s own account: family farming at Arno and College Grove since 1819, the 1926 milk license, more than two decades as a livestock veterinarian, the Lee family’s ranch among his clients, and how he describes the commissioner’s job.Professional or biographical source - 07Hatcher Family Dairy (company website)Hatcher Family Dairy, College Grove · Accessed September 17, 2026
The family business as it presents itself: farming since 1819, grass-fed and non-homogenized milk, and a 2009 date for the start of on-farm bottling that differs from the 2007 of the state’s releases and biography.Professional or biographical source - 08August 6, 2026 Republican Primary — Results by County (Internet Archive copy) (Internet Archive copy, captured 2026)Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections · Dated September 3, 2026
United States House District 5: Hatcher 36,546, Ogles 32,096 across seventeen counties, with county-by-county totals; cited from the archive because the state’s servers refuse automated requests.Government record - 09August 6, 2026 Democratic Primary — Results by County (Internet Archive copy) (Internet Archive copy, captured 2026)Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections · Dated September 3, 2026
District 5 Democratic primary: Molder 17,730, Cooper-Sutton 14,362, Hurley 4,857, Hill 4,324, Iacomini 2,491.Government record - 10HATCHER, CHARLIE — candidate overview, H6TN05405Federal Election Commission · Coverage through July 17, 2026; accessed September 17, 2026
Principal committee Charlie Hatcher for Congress; statement of candidacy filed October 15, 2025; receipts, individual and candidate contributions, disbursements and cash on hand for August 1, 2025 to July 17, 2026 (figures cited to the cent).Government record - 11MOLDER, CHAZ — candidate overview, H6TN05397Federal Election Commission · Coverage through July 17, 2026; accessed September 17, 2026
The Democratic nominee’s committee, Molder for Congress: receipts, disbursements, cash on hand and debts for July 1, 2025 to July 17, 2026.Government record - 12FEC Form 2, Statement of Candidacy: Chaz MolderFederal Election Commission (docquery) · September 4, 2025
Molder’s statement of candidacy for Tennessee’s 5th District, Democratic Party, designating Molder for Congress as principal campaign committee.Government record - 13HB 7003 / SB 7004 — congressional districts (Second Extraordinary Session, 114th General Assembly)Tennessee General Assembly · Accessed September 17, 2026
The 2026 congressional map: passed the House 64–25 with 3 present and not voting and the Senate 25–5 on May 7, 2026, signed by the Governor the same day, Public Chapter 3.Government record - 14HB 7001 / SB 7001 — the 2026 congressional elections (Second Extraordinary Session, 114th General Assembly)Tennessee General Assembly · Accessed September 17, 2026
Public Chapter 2: an exception to the one-year district-residency requirement for the 2026 U.S. House primary, a special qualifying deadline of noon on May 15, 2026, and grandfathering of candidates already qualified in a district of the same number; passed 68–25 and 23–7, signed May 7, 2026.Government record - 15TN governor signs new congressional map into law, dividing Memphis and marking end of special sessionWSMV-TV, Nashville · May 7, 2026
The three-day special session called after the Supreme Court’s decision on race-based districting under 1965 federal law (the report calls it the 1965 Civil Rights Act); the House and Senate votes; the bills removing the bar on mid-decade redistricting and suspending residency requirements; the Governor’s signature.Independent reporting - 16SB 0207 / HB 1325 — Farmland Preservation Fund (114th General Assembly)Tennessee General Assembly · Accessed September 17, 2026
Public Chapter 470: establishes a fund, including a conservation-easement grant program, for preserving farmland and forestland; Senate 27–4 on March 13, 2025, House 84–8 on April 16, Senate concurrence 25–4, signed May 12, 2025.Government record - 17Gov. Lee Signs Farmland Preservation Act Into Law (press release)Office of Governor Bill Lee, tn.gov · May 12, 2025
The signing; the permanent conservation easement and grant fund; sponsors Jack Johnson and William Lamberth; Commissioner Hatcher’s statement; Representative Vital’s figure of 240 acres of farm and forest land lost a day.Government record - 18Gov. Lee Announces Expanded Small Business Relief; New Relief Programs for Agriculture, Tourism, and Workforce Development (press release)Office of Governor Bill Lee, tn.gov · August 14, 2020
$50 million of federal Coronavirus Relief Fund money assigned to a Department of Agriculture support program for agricultural and forestry businesses, with applications August 17–31, 2020.Government record - 19Agricultural Businesses Awarded Coronavirus Relief Funds (press release)Tennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · September 22, 2020
Coronavirus Agricultural and Forestry Business Fund awards: more than 1,000 applications and $335 million requested, about 80 percent funded, 60 percent of recipients small businesses; Commissioner Hatcher’s statement.Government record - 20Tennessee Agricultural Fund Announces Record Support (press release)Tennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · June 8, 2021
A record Agricultural Enterprise Fund round: just over $951,000 to 28 businesses; nearly $5.3 million awarded since the program began, leveraging more than $82 million; Commissioner Hatcher’s statement.Government record - 21Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in Tennessee (press release)Tennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · September 15, 2022
H5N1 in an Obion County backyard flock; the State Veterinarian’s statewide halt to poultry shows and sales; the 20-kilometer surveillance zone reaching into Kentucky; Commissioner Hatcher’s statement; the reference to the 2017 commercial outbreak.Government record - 22Bird flu found in Tennessee chicken breeding facilityCBS News (Associated Press and WTVF reporting) · March 6, 2017
The H7 detection at a Lincoln County commercial breeder facility of 73,500 birds, about 30 farms quarantined, and State Veterinarian Hatcher’s statement on the response.Independent reporting - 23Grades & Endorsements — Tennessee 2026NRA Political Victory Fund · Accessed September 17, 2026
5th Congressional District: Hatcher AQ, a questionnaire-based grade for a candidate without a voting record; Molder F; the fund’s definitions of each grade.Independent analysis or rating - 24Charlie Hatcher — Pro-Gun. Pro-Life. Pro-Trump. Farm Strong. (campaign website, home page)Charlie Hatcher for Congress · Accessed September 17, 2026
The campaign’s single-page biography and slogan; the claims of eight businesses and seven years as commissioner; the campaign’s social-media links and College Grove mailing address; the committee disclaimer.Campaign or advocacy material - 25Chaz Molder for Congress (campaign website, home page)Chaz Molder for Congress · Accessed September 17, 2026
The Democratic nominee’s self-description: Columbia mayor since 2018, re-elected in 2022, and his stated reasons for running.Campaign or advocacy material - 26Charlie Hatcher to challenge Andy Ogles in 2026 primaryNashville Banner · October 14, 2025
Hatcher confirms his candidacy; his statements on the incumbent, the trade war and the government shutdown; the two family businesses run by his daughter and son; the 2024 Johnston challenge; Ogles’s filings and the open federal investigation.Independent reporting - 27Charlie Hatcher launches campaign for Congressional District 5 with fundraiser at Battle Mountain FarmWilliamson Herald · November 13, 2025
The launch event; Hatcher’s statements on running as a farmer, congressional pay and President Trump.Independent reporting - 28Republican Charlie Hatcher challenges Ogles in Tenn.’s 5th Congressional District, calling him a ‘show horse’WTVF NewsChannel 5, Nashville · June 5, 2026
The Inside Politics interview: the ‘work horse’ contrast, his answer on Ogles’s deleted post, his explanation of President Trump’s endorsement of the incumbent, his home outside the new lines, tariffs and Iran.Independent reporting - 29Andy Ogles navigates reshaped 5th District in reelection bidNashville Banner · July 16, 2026
The old and new district lines; both challengers’ homes excluded; Corker, Haslam and Perdue for Hatcher; Hatcher’s and Molder’s statements on the redraw; the Democratic field.Independent reporting - 30Charlie Hatcher shares family history at Franklin Noon RotaryWilliamson Herald · July 16, 2026
Hatcher’s account of his family: born in 1958, one of five children of Abe and Jacqueline Hatcher, Page High School’s first graduating class in 1976, married in 1978, the 2006 bottling decision and the robotic milking parlour; described as an author and former UT trustee.Independent reporting - 31Top Trump ally warns super PAC bankrolled by Dem billionaire is meddling in his GOP primaryFox News · August 3, 2026
Invest in Tomorrow Coalition’s roughly $1.3 million against Ogles and for Hatcher plus a further $700,000; Chris Larsen’s $6 million to the PAC; Ogles’s criticism and President Trump’s reaffirmed endorsement.Independent reporting - 32Charlie Hatcher aims to bring ‘common sense’ to WashingtonWilliamson Herald · August 5, 2026
Hatcher’s stated priorities on the eve of the primary: farmland loss, H-2A, food security, the cost of living, infrastructure, the debt, the Department of Education and federal money for district projects.Independent reporting - 33Rep. Andy Ogles loses his Republican primary in TennesseeNBC News · August 6, 2026
The projection; Hatcher’s establishment backers; Ogles’s controversies and the closed investigation; the clean-energy group’s spending; Ogles as the ninth House member to lose a primary in 2026.Independent reporting - 34Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Ogles projected to lose GOP primary in TennesseeCBS News · August 6, 2026
The margin; President Trump’s statements before and after the primary; fundraising of $613,135 against $719,503; the super PAC’s roughly $2 million; Ogles’s and Matzzie’s statements; Hatcher’s answers on the outside spending, energy and the redrawn district; the concession call.Independent reporting - 35Charlie Hatcher unseats Andy Ogles in TN 5th District primaryNashville Banner · August 6, 2026
The result; the Freedom Caucus Fund and Invest in Tomorrow Coalition spending; the tele-rally quotations; the district’s new shape; Maury County; Molder’s fundraising and the Democratic and independent fields.Independent reporting - 36Trump-backed incumbent loses Tennessee primary to fifth-generation farmerWSMV-TV, Nashville · August 7, 2026
Hatcher’s primary-night statements; Molder’s $2.6 million and platform; the independents; President Trump’s Truth Social endorsement of Hatcher the next morning.Independent reporting - 37Trump endorses Charlie Hatcher after Andy Ogles primary lossWashington Examiner · August 7, 2026
Confirms the post-primary endorsement and places Ogles’s defeat among the week’s losses for Trump-endorsed candidates.Independent reporting - 38Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. — Commissioner biography (Internet Archive copy of the department’s page) (Internet Archive copy, captured Jan 8, 2025)Tennessee Department of Agriculture, tn.gov · Archived February 2, 2025
The department’s own biography as published while he was in office: sworn in January 19, 2019; ten years as State Veterinarian; Rock-N-Country Veterinary Services founded 1993; dairy bottling since 2007; D.V.M. 1984 and B.S. 1980; College Grove farm established 1831; wife Sharon, daughter and son. It states no birth date; cited from the archive because the page was removed after his retirement.Government record - 39Independent expenditures naming Hatcher, Schedule E itemized records, 2026 cycle (FEC API)Federal Election Commission · Accessed September 17, 2026
The Commission’s itemized independent-expenditure records for candidate H6TN05405: the Freedom Caucus Fund’s three media buys opposing Hatcher on July 23, 28 and 31, 2026 ($130,035.10, $118,046.41 and $24,932.11, a total of $273,013.62), each reported on a 24-hour notice and on the fund’s August monthly report; no Invest in Tomorrow Coalition item appeared under this candidate record at the time of review.Government record - 40Board of Trustees — MembersUniversity of Tennessee · Accessed September 17, 2026
The board’s composition: the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Tennessee is its one ex officio voting member, a seat Commissioner Andy Holt now holds; the basis for Hatcher’s trusteeship during his years as commissioner.Government record
No matching sources. Try “Clerk,” “Senate,” or “campaign.”
Scope & method. Reviewed September 17, 2026. This is a documented overview of publicly available biography, major actions and stated priorities. Hatcher has never held legislative office, so there are no roll calls, bills or legislative scorecards to read; his record is the department’s, and it is described at the level the state’s own releases support, with credit shared where a program or law was the Governor’s or the General Assembly’s initiative. Percentages of the vote were computed from the Secretary of State’s canvass; dollar figures are the Federal Election Commission’s summary totals, cited to the cent, or the amounts stated in the cited release or report. No birth date is asserted: the department’s biography and the Governor’s releases give none, and the one newspaper account of a birth year was not used. Veterinary license records, degree transcripts, business filings, the campaign’s count of businesses and personal financial disclosures were not part of this review. Ballotpedia, OpenSecrets, the Tennessee Lookout, the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections declined automated retrieval, and the Federal Election Commission’s public API was rate-limited after it returned Hatcher’s itemized independent-expenditure record, so no race rating is asserted and the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition’s spending rests on reporting. Filings and campaign pages may change after this review.
Images. The candidate portrait is the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s 2020 official photograph of Commissioner Hatcher, still published on the department’s Commissioner and Staff page. It is a Tennessee state government photograph whose license the state does not state, and it is reproduced here as a public-record image pending the owner’s decision; no campaign-owned photograph is used. Inclusion does not imply campaign authorization or endorsement of this publication.
Where to find the candidate
Every link below was read from the campaign’s own website or the candidate’s official government page. A follower count is printed only where it was measured; otherwise the link is published and the number is left blank rather than guessed at.
Voting in Tennessee: official dates, deadlines and rules
The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The dates and rules below were read from the Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections; the authority's own page, linked beside each one, is the final word.
Dates and deadlines
- Voter registration deadlineMonday, October 5, 2026, for the November 3, 2026 State and Federal General Election. The Secretary of State's 2026 calendar prints this one date and does not give separate online, mail or in-person cut-offs. To register, use online voter registration, or download and complete the Voter Registration Application and mail it or deliver it by hand to your county election commission; applications can also be picked up in person at county election commission offices, county clerk's offices, public libraries and register of deeds offices. The Secretary of State's FAQ says a person who does not have an ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security cannot register online but can still register by filling out a paper form. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/calendar
- Early voting beginsWednesday, October 14, 2026. The Secretary of State's 2026 calendar gives the early voting period for the November 3, 2026 general election as Wednesday, October 14 – Thursday, October 29, 2026. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/calendar
- Early voting endsThursday, October 29, 2026, the last day of the early voting period (Wednesday, October 14 – Thursday, October 29, 2026) printed in the Secretary of State's 2026 calendar. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/calendar
- Deadline to request an absentee by-mail ballotSaturday, October 24, 2026. The Secretary of State's Guide to Absentee Voting says a registered voter may request an application for a by-mail ballot no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than ten (10) days before the election, and that, to be processed for the next election, the application must be received by the election commission no later than ten (10) days before the election. This is a received-by deadline for the request. The written request must be submitted, by mail or e-mail, to the local county election commission office by the tenth day before Election Day. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/calendar
- Deadline to return an absentee by-mail ballotElection Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026: you must mail your ballot in time for your county election commission to receive it no later than the close of polls on Election Day. This is a received-by deadline, not a postmark deadline. You must return your ballot by mail (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.); hand delivery or handing it to a poll worker during early voting or on Election Day is not permitted. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/guide-to-absentee-voting
- Polling place hours on Election DayElection Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The Secretary of State's pages reviewed for this guide do not print a statewide opening or closing time. Its FAQ answers the question “When can I vote?” this way: find your early voting and Election Day polling place and hours in the GoVoteTN app. Its Election Day page likewise sends voters to the GoVoteTN lookup (Search by Voter or Search by Address) for their polling location and ballot information. Absentee by-mail ballots must be received no later than the close of polls on Election Day. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/faqs
Rules to know
- What to bringTennesseans voting early or on Election Day must bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. Any of the following IDs may be used, even if expired: a Tennessee driver license with your photo; a United States Passport; a photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; a photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government; a United States Military photo ID; or a Tennessee handgun carry permit with your photo. NOT acceptable: college student IDs; photo IDs not issued by the federal or Tennessee state government, including county or city issued photo IDs, such as library cards, and photo IDs issued by other states; and photo IDs issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to non-U.S. citizens. First-time voters who registered by mail or Online Voter Registration and whose ID is expired must also present a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows the voter's name and address. Exempt from the photo ID requirement: voters who vote absentee by mail; residents of a licensed nursing home or assisted living center who vote at the facility; voters who are hospitalized; voters with a religious objection to being photographed; and voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee. The Secretary of State's FAQ adds that a voter who does not bring a photo ID votes a provisional ballot and then has two (2) business days after Election Day to return to the election commission office to show a valid photo ID, and that a free photo ID to vote can be obtained from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security at any participating driver service center. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/voter-id-requirements
- Who may vote by mailTennessee requires a statutory reason to vote absentee by-mail. You can vote absentee by-mail if you fall under one of these categories: you are sixty (60) years of age or older; you will be outside the county where you are registered during the early voting period and all day on Election Day; you are hospitalized, ill or physically disabled and unable to appear at your polling place to vote; you are the caretaker of a person who is hospitalized, ill, or disabled (a physician's statement is not required for either of these two reasons); you or your spouse are a full-time student in an accredited college or university outside the county where you are registered; you reside in a nursing home, assisted living facility or home for the aged outside your county of residence; you are a candidate for office in the election; you are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day; you serve as an Election Day official or as a member or employee of the election commission; you will be unable to vote in-person due to jury duty; you have a disability and an inaccessible polling place; you or your spouse possess a valid commercial drivers license (CDL) or Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and you will be working outside the state or county of registration during the open hours of early voting and Election Day and have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state address to which mail may be sent or received during such time; you are a member of the military or are an overseas citizen; or you are on the permanent absentee list. To ask for a ballot, submit a written request by mail or e-mail to your local county election commission office by the tenth day before Election Day (Saturday, October 24, 2026); to be processed for the election, the application must be received by the election commission no later than ten (10) days before the election. The request must contain the voter's name, address of residence, social security number, date of birth, the address to mail the ballot, the election, the reason for voting absentee and the voter's signature, and, if applicable, a copy of the CDL containing the CDL number or the TWIC card; the absentee ballot request form helps make sure all required information is provided. An e-mailed request must be an attached document containing this information and your scanned signature. If information is missing, the county election commission returns the application so you can make corrections and resubmit it. The Secretary of State's FAQ adds that, unless you are on the permanent absentee voting register, enrolled in the Safe at Home program, or have previously voted in the county of registration, you must appear in-person to vote in the first election after you have registered by-mail or online. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/guide-to-absentee-voting
- Early in-person votingNo reason is needed to vote early: the Secretary of State's guide says that, unlike by-mail voting, which requires a statutory reason, a person may vote during the early voting period purely for the sake of convenience. For the November 3, 2026 general election the early voting period is Wednesday, October 14 – Thursday, October 29, 2026. To vote early, a person must appear in person at either the county election commission office or at a satellite voting location opened by the county election commission. Early voting is closed on holidays, but a person may vote early on any Saturday that falls during the period. A voter can also change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location. For details regarding times and early voting locations, contact the local county election commission office; the guide also links to early voting locations and hours for each county. The Secretary of State's FAQ says Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day must bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/how-to-early-vote-in-person
- Track your absentee ballotThe Secretary of State's Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker tool allows voters to track the status of their absentee by-mail ballot. It is part of the Tennessee Voter Registration Lookup and Absentee Ballot Status Tracker at tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup. The Secretary of State says this lookup allows voters to review their registration information, track absentee ballots, see early voting and Election Day information, and find their polling place. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/faqs
- Felony convictionsThe Secretary of State's Restoration of Voting Rights guide says: if your felony conviction was on or before May 17, 1981, you only need to answer the appropriate question on the voter registration form and do not need to do anything else to get your voting rights restored; if your felony conviction was on or after May 18, 1981, you must get a court order to get your voting rights restored before you can register to vote. To get a court order you must meet all of the listed conditions, which include that you do not owe any restitution, that you do not owe court costs unless a court finds that you are indigent, and that you are current in all child support obligations. Voting rights cannot be restored after a conviction for any of the permanently disqualifying felonies that the guide lists by time period. Read from: sos.tn.gov/elections/guides/restoration-of-voting-rights
Read from: Key Dates for the 2026 Election Cycle · Elections · Guide to Absentee Voting · How to Early Vote - In Person · How to Register to Vote · Register to Vote Paper Form (Mail-in or hand-deliver) — Rules and dates as of Sep 17, 2026
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