Former Trump ambassador to Japan launches Senate bid in Tennessee

Bill Hagerty, the former ambassador to Japan under President Donald Trump, launched a run for Senate in Tennessee Monday, two months after Trump endorsed his prospective campaign.

Hagerty, a businessman who served as Trump’s Tennessee Victory chair during the 2016 campaign, is running for the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander. In an interview with POLITICO, Hagerty said he had discussed the prospect of running for Senate with Trump for months after Alexander announced his retirement. Hagerty earned Trump’s endorsement earlier this summer after former Gov. Bill Haslam declined to run.

"He’s looked at all the candidates in this race and he’s decided to endorse me as the candidate best able to put forward conservative Tennessee values in the U.S. Senate," Hagerty said in the interview.

In an announcement video, he called serving in the Trump administration the "honor of a lifetime" and said he felt called to run for office, attacking the "Democrat socialist agenda" and the freshman House Democrats known as "the Squad."

In the interview, Hagerty praised Trump’s record on the economy and appointing conservative judges, saying he has "been in constant contact with the president about those successes and what we can do to increase them." Hagerty said it has taken him several months to extricate himself from his official duties in Japan, where he served as ambassador for two years, but that he has fully returned to Tennessee.

"I’m eager to get ready and get to work and carry that fight to the Senate and support the president in his efforts and bring Tennessee values, Tennessee conservative values to bear in an area and a time when I think they’re absolutely critical," Hagerty said.

The former ambassador faces a competitive primary against Manny Sethi, a trauma surgeon and conservative who is running as an anti-establishment outsider. Sethi is well funded, with $1.5 million cash on hand as of June 30, $1 million of which was a personal loan.

Hagerty is likely to be well-funded too, given Trump’s endorsement and his own position in Republican and business circles.

Veteran and attorney James Mackler is the only Democrat in the race, though Republicans are heavily favored to hold the seat following GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s decisive victory in 2018 over former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Asked what represented major differences between himself and Sethi, Hagerty cited Trump’s support.

"There’s only one candidate in this race that President Trump has endorsed," Hagerty said. "President Trump has endorsed me to be the person to carry conservative Tennessee values forward for the people of Tennessee and that’s where I stand, that’s where the president stands."

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