WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — What's seemingly a routine procedural vote may impact tens of thousands of voters in Williamson County.
At their convention this Tuesday, the Republican party will vote to put party leaders in place.
I found out two sides of the party are running on very different platforms: should the party engage voters through primaries? Or caucus?
Keep in mind the Republican party is strong in Williamson County, taking a majority of the nearly 200 thousand registered voters in the county.
“We’re hopeful, we will be elected to the board of the Williamson County Republican Party,” said County commissioner Brian Clifford.
He’s running for Chairman of the Republican party under the Williamson County Conservatives banner.
He says Tuesday's conference to reorganize party leadership is an important one.
“Because of the issues on the table, primarily the fact our opposition is trying to cancel Republican primaries,” said Clifford.
Then there's Elevate.
They're the incumbents and Clifford says they're trying to move towards a caucus system of voting.
The Williamson County Conservatives want a primary system.
“When we cancel primaries, we disenfranchise so many voters: service members, first responders, the elderly, the infirmed, anyone who’s homebound, busy families with kids in sports,” said Clifford.
It wouldn't be out of the question.
Maury county republicans have opted to hold a caucus for local general elections.
Clifford says a move like that in Williamson County for local elections would put tens of thousands of voters in the dark.
Williamson County not only has more registered voters than Maury County, the Secretary of State’s office shows Williamson County saw a higher turnout for the November 2024 election.
“Primaries give them an opportunity to vote and that’s what we’re trying to protect. We’re trying to protect their right to vote… what our opponents are trying to do is cancel that in favor of a small group of insiders choosing those Republican nominees for us,” said Clifford.
The Elevate campaign online never directly mentions caucuses, saying they favor transparency, fairness, and accountability.
Clifford says their track record reflects differently.
A spokesperson with Elevate declined an interview:
“Upon further reflection, we have decided to forgo the statement and let our record, website and social media stand for what Elevate-2025 is about. If offered the opportunity to debate directly in a mutually agreed public forum with the opposing slate's chair candidate, we may reconsider, but at this time we are focused on engaging personally with our voters.”
The convention is Tuesday, March 4th at 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott in Cool Springs.
Bonafide republican voters are permitted to vote in person, which means voting in three of the last four republican primaries.
If you have more information about this story, please email me at Amanda.Roberts@newschannel5.com.
