Morgan Ortagus Completely Flunks Easy Trivia Test on Tennessee After Moving There Ahead of Run for Congress
Former State Department spokesperson and former Fox News contributor Morgan Ortagus struggled with a trivia quiz for the Tennessee district she’s seeking to represent in Congress.
Ortagus, who is running for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, spoke to Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday for his radio show on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. At one point, Leahy asked her to play a game called “Taking the Fifth” to test her knowledge about the district.
Leahy’s first question was “What three interstate highways are located in the 5th Congressional District?”
“I’m a terrible driver,” Ortagus answered while laughing. “I don’t know that. I don’t drive anywhere that I go.”
“It’s I-65, I-40, and I-24,” Leahy told her. He then asked Ortagus which multi-Grammy-Award-winning country music star owns a winery in the district.
“I have been to that winery. It’s great – I love that winery. I bought some wine,” Ortagus said. As for Leahy’s question though, she replied: “I don’t know who owns it, but I love it. We went there for the summer and had a picnic outside. It was beautiful.”
The game went on with Ortagus fumbling on questions including who were the last four previous Republican governors of Tennessee, which famous NASCAR driver lives in the 5th district, and which Confederate general was born in the district. The answer to the last question was Nathan Bedford Forrest, and as Leahy explained he was raised in Chapel Hill. The radio host asked Ortagus in which county that was located.
“I don’t know,” Ortagus said. ”
“Marshall County,” Leahy answered. “It’s in your district.”
Ortagus, who served as spokeswoman for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has been endorsed in her congressional run by former President Donald Trump.
Despite that high profile, multiple reports on her candidacy have noted that she has very few established ties to the state.
The Tennessean notes that Ortagus is a Florida native who moved to the state only last year, where she worked for a health care investment firm based in Nashville.
From The Tennessean’s report:
Public records indicate Ortagus lives in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood with her husband and young daughter. Ortagus said Monday her husband works for General Motors, which has a plant in Spring Hill, on technology policy.
The couple’s address is not in the new 5th district but district residency is not a requirement for candidacy. Ortagus said Monday she is “committed to Nashville.”
“I’m like a lot of people that have moved to the district, that want a better life for their children, that want to live in a place with conservative values, that want to live in a place where freedom of speech still matters,” Ortagus said.
