WASHINGTON (US) – Former ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, who enjoys the support of President Donald Trump, won Tennessee’s Republican Senate primary. He will replace retiring Senator Lamar Alexander, according to the media.
The sixty-year-old, who was appointed ambassador by Trump, has fashioned his campaign after the president’s 2016 run for the White House, bypassing 14 candidates, seeking Republican nomination.
According to partial results, Hagerty had 50.5% of the vote. His closest rival, orthopaedic surgeon Manny Sethi, was trailing with 40.1%.
The duo began their campaign with each claiming to be more conservative than the other in the Republican stronghold, which Trump won.
The winner of the primary will replace Alexander, the 80-year-old former US secretary of education, who is a moderate face in the party.
For decades, Tennessee has always elected moderate Republicans.
Hagerty was appointed ambassador to Tokyo in 2017 and he left the position to enter the campaign fray.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field