Rep. Johnny Garrett sends mailers despite not seeking reelection to state House.
Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
A Tennessee House member is sending out mailers paid for by state campaign funds as he mounts a run for Congress, sidestepping rules that prohibit the use of state campaign accounts for federal races.
Republican state Rep. Johnny Garrett of Goodlettsville has sent at least two pieces of mail to residents in his Sumner County district within the last month touting his efforts on passing legislation to crack down on undocumented immigration.
House and Senate Republicans are pushing an “Immigration 2026” agenda, formed in cooperation with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, designed to remove immigrants without permanent legal documentation from the state.
The mailers are paid for by “Garrett for State Representative,” even though the lawmaker isn’t running for reelection to the 45th District House seat. Instead, he’s seeking Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District seat and gearing up for a race against former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. John Rose, who represents the 6th District but is running for governor.
Using state campaign funds for federal elections is prohibited because the money is raised and spent under different rules.
Garrett, who stepped down from a leadership post this year as House Republican Caucus whip, hasn’t turned in expenses for the mailers yet. Even though lawmakers receive state funds to send constituent mailers, Garrett is spending from his own campaign account.
Asked Monday whether he is trying to get around federal campaign finance laws, Garrett said, “I’m just trying to communicate with my constituents … like we all do every day.”
He made a similar move in 2025, putting more than $172,500 into television and digital ads backing President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant moves.
Asked at the time if he was laying the groundwork for a congressional run, Garrett said via text, “I’m letting my constituents know that I fully support President Trump’s immigration policies. The woke Left’s open border policy has been eliminated and all we needed was a new President.”
One of his recent mailers says, “To all illegal immigrants: Tennessee is closed for business!” He alludes to HB1705, which would put stricter citizenship verification requirements on businesses, but he isn’t sponsoring the measure.
Garrett is spending down his state campaign account, which has $50,800 remaining, even though his congressional campaign account has nearly $1.2 million, including a $600,000 loan. He spent $143,616 out of it in 2025, Federal Election Commission records show.
The state lawmaker also spent $35,000 with the Baker Group in 2025, the political consulting firm headed by Ward Baker, who also handles the gubernatorial campaign of Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Blackburn ramped up spending by political action committees last year as she announced her gubernatorial campaign.
Hilleary hasn’t filed any reports with the Federal Election Commission on the 6th Congressional District race.
