The Primary Pressure Cooker

Good afternoon, everyone. A look at how things are heating up in the August primaries... Nashville Assessor's Office Audit: room for improvement but no major discrepancies.... Later start times for MNPS High School students after years of debate... And much more!

Augustapalooza Two chances for you to schmooze next month. The special guest for our monthly event is writer Scott Greer here to talk about his new book, and we're partnering with children's book publisher Chapter House for a mom's night out (with open bar) the Saturday before. (Greer Info, Mom Info)

Voting & TN U.S. Congressional District lookup Use your address to find your new congressional district here. Check out The Pamphleteer's quick voting guide.

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Ballots, billionaires, and burn books: the August primaries get spicy.

From Megan Podsiedlik

We’re ten days into early voting, and just over 30,000 Davidson County residents have cast ballots in this year’s August primaries. That’s an 82 percent increase over 2022 turnout, but Nashville is now trailing its 2018 pace—the last time Tennessee had an open gubernatorial race—by 772 votes. The overall turnout across the state is still about 39 percent ahead of 2022’s pace and 3 percent ahead of 2018.

Ogles vs. Hatcher Yesterday, President Donald Trump joined U.S. Representative Andy Ogles for a virtual tele-rally, reaffirming his endorsement of the Tennessee congressman as he faces a competitive Republican primary challenge from former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher in District 5.

Hatcher has gained momentum with the backing of a well-funded super PAC, former Governor Bill Haslam, former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and Puckett's restaurant owner Andy Marshall—who is predicted to become mayor of Williamson County.

Though Ogles has the incumbency advantage and remains favored on prediction markets, outside groups are spending more than $1 million to boost Hatcher and highlight past controversies surrounding Ogles’ time in office.

Sexton Backs Hilleary A major endorsement was dropped yesterday in the 6th Congressional District race to replace Representative John Rose. Tennessee state House Speaker Cameron Sexton is backing former U.S. Representative Van Hilleary.

Hilleary and state Representative Johnny Garrett are the leading contenders in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s newly drawn 6th District. Hilleary is running on his experience in Congress and ties to the Trump movement, while Garrett is highlighting his conservative record alongside the likes of Sexton in the state egislature and grassroots support.

Blackburn Dark Money Ad Debacle Comcast pulled an AI-generated attack ad by a dark-money PAC that accused Senate Marsha Blackburn of accepting bribes from Big Pharma in exchange for legislative favors. The TV ad highlighted Blackburn’s alleged role in a 2016 pharmaceutical law, branding her “queen pharma mama” and accusing her of benefiting the industry. Blackburn’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter calling the claims defamatory, and her campaign has urged the state ethics board to investigate.

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✹ AUGUST PAMPHLETEER EVENTS

Two Opportunities to Mix and Mingle. In addition to our regular, third Thursday get-together with special guest Scott Greer who is here to talk about his new book Whitepill, we're partnering with children's book publisher Chapter House to host a Mom's Night Out in support of their new line of high-quality children's classics.

Learn More

For the Whitepilled event with Scott Greer, the first 50 guests to RSVP with code PILLED will receive free admittance. RSVP here.

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HEADLINES

🔍 Nashville Assessor's Office Audit: room for improvement but no major discrepancies. A state audit of the Davidson County Assessor of Property's Office found no major problems with the accuracy of property appraisals, concluding the office generally complies with state standards. However, auditors identified areas for improvement, including strengthening internal processes and documentation to make assessments more consistent and transparent. (Banner)
⏰ Later start times for MNPS High School students after years of debate. Following years of discussion about adolescent sleep and student well-being, most MNPS high schools will begin classes 20 minutes later when students return on Aug. 11. Start time for high schoolers will shift from 7:05 a.m. to 7:25 a.m., and elementary schools will generally start 10 minutes later, while middle school schedules will remain unchanged. (Tennessean)
🛑 Nashville School Board denies four charter applications. The Metro Nashville Public Schools board voted unanimously to deny amended start applications for four charter schools—Music City Academy, the Gate School, Nashville School of Excellence, and Empowerment Academy. The board based its decision, in part, on the impact the charter schools would have on their neighboring public schools’ enrollment and funding under the state’s per-pupil funding formula. Each school now has the option to appeal the board’s decision to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. (Banner)

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✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR

What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)

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DEVELOPMENT

Boutique dog hotel Yardstick coming to Franklin this fall (Source)
South 11th Street structure in East Nashville listed for $1,995,000 (Post)
The Rec Room Coffee Shop slated for East Nashville (Post)

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✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH

New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)