Narrow Victory for Slate of Incumbents in Hotly Contested Williamson County Republican Party Reorganizing Convention

Republican voters in Williamson County narrowly voted to retain the current leadership of the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP), with bona fide voters electing the incumbent members of leadership on the Elevate-2025 slate over the Williamson County Conservatives slate.

Steve Hickey was elected WCRP Chairman with 795 votes to Brian Clifford’s 751 votes, giving the Elevate candidate 44 more votes than his opponent. The previous chairman, Dr. Tracy Miller, introduced the meeting but did not stand for reelection.

The rest of the Elevate slate won by similar margins, with Diane Chenard elected First Vice Chairman with 799 votes to Ali Adair’s 743; Elliott Franklin elected Second Vice Chairman with 786 votes over Drell Floyd’s 754; Courtney Laginess winning Third Vice Chairman with 791 votes to Patti Carroll’s 754; Tim Raynaud elected Treasurer with 810 votes to Michelle Sutton’s 730; Brandon Bell narrowly elected Assistant Treasurer with 783 votes to Steven Tyler Giorno’s 759; Leigh Ann Cates elected Secretary with 804 votes to Kimberly Calcote’s 735, and Peg Raciti elected Assistant Secretary with 787 votes to Rob Verell’s 748.

Multiple Elevate candidates will replace or exchange roles with existing members of leadership, including Hickey, who will take the position held by Miller, Chenard who will replace Hannah Tiblier, Laginess who will take Brandon Bell’s current position of third vice chair, while Bell became the assistant treasurer.

Raynaud will similarly take Laginess’ current position as treasurer, while Cates will replace Diane Chenard and Peg Raciti will replace Christine Deekens.

Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, and both Governor Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee were among attendees at the convention.

A hand recount of the votes returned the same results, with the Elevate slate of candidates winning by slim margins, with the number of votes separating ranging from just 14 votes to 78 between the various candidates. In total, 1,555 people cast votes.

Prior to the vote, the Williamson County Conservatives slate and its supporters raised concerns of voter suppression, citing unsigned emails from from an account named “2025 Credentials” under the subject line “Williamson County Mass Convention” that appeared to misinform at least some Republicans of their eligibility to vote in the reorganizing convention.

At the convention, Williamson County Conservatives chair candidate Clifford made the key point that the Elevate slate of candidates purportedly seeks to replace local primaries for selecting county office nominees with caucuses, warning that it would disenfranchise those unable to attend.

The Elevate slate chair candidate Hickey, who ultimately won the contest, did not refute this claim.

Concerns were also raised about the change in event venue being announced shortly before the convention, with the current leadership citing the possibility for turnout to exceed capacity at the previous venue, which was capped around 1,500. Without approximately 1,555 votes cast, it is unclear if this concern proved valid.

The close vote was marked by a packed Reorganizing Convention, as previous events failed to garner more than 800 eligible Republican voters.

Some framed the election around the possibility that leadership will change the county’s nominating process from a traditional primary to a caucus, which members of the opposing Williamson County Conservatives said could result in voter disenfranchisement due to the requirement to physically participate at caucus locations for hours.

“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,” Brian Clifford said in a statement reported by NewsChannel 5 days ahead of the vote.

A spokesman for the Elevate slate declined to comment to the outlet on the concerns by supporters of the opposing slate.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].