The Ballot Brief › Tennessee › Charlie Hatcher
Charlie Hatcher
Republican · Tennessee · 2026Charlie Hatcher is a livestock veterinarian and fifth-generation dairy farmer who served as Tennessee's 38th Commissioner of Agriculture from January 2019 until retiring in the fall of 2025, after a decade as the state's State Veterinarian, per Gov. Bill Lee's office. He farms with Hatcher Family Dairy and says he has started eight businesses from scratch, per his campaign site and a Williamson Herald profile. Endorsed by Gov. Lee, he unseated two-term Rep. Andy Ogles on August 6 with 53.24% (36,544 votes) to 46.76%, a margin of 4,453 votes across the district's 17 counties.
Priorities
- Protect agriculture and farmland, arguing food security is national security, and make the H-2A farm worker program faster and cheaper
- Address cost of living and bring federal infrastructure money back to the district
- Balance the federal budget and shrink the federal government, including dismantling the U.S. Department of Education
On the ballot
U.S. House, TN-5 · Tennessee · 2026
Profile facts follow official election office filings and the sources cited in each biography. Official sources are the final word on who appears on your ballot.