Incumbent Representative Chuck Fleischmann defended his Congressional seat last night after defeating two serious challengers. Winning by more than 6,000 votes, Fleischmann was the only Republican to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to oppose higher taxes. With his victory, Tennessee taxpayers will remain in safe hands.

Americans for Tax Reform highlighted dairy mogul Scottie Mayfield’s refusal to make a written promise to them to oppose higher taxes by issuing a stern warning about the risk of electing him, shortly before the primary. Quoted as saying he wanted to “leave his options open” for higher taxes, Tennessee voters did not respond well to the risk of handing a Congressional seat to Mayfield.

Scottie Mayfield wasn’t the only candidate to leave tax hikes on the table. Weston Wamp, former Rep. Zach Wamp’s son, also refused to make the same written promise that his father did to Tennessee Taxpayers by signing the Pledge. In fact, he called himself a member of the “debt paying generation” and called for a rewritten tax code where “everyone pays a fair share.” The fact that he had the same central theme of President Obama’s tax policy may have played a role in his third place finish.

Americans for Tax Reform was heavily involved in highlighting the fact that Mayfield and Wamp refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. In the days leading up to the primary, ATR made tens of thousands of voter contact and sent multiple emails to Tennessee voters. Last night’s results demonstrate that voters took notice of who makes promises and what it takes to get serious about cutting government spending: signing the Taxpayer protection Pledge.

“I want to congratulate Chuck Fleischmann on winning last night’s Republican primary in Tennessee,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Republican primary voters clearly took their displeasure with Washington’s tax and spend agenda to the ballot box and rewarded the candidate who took the Pledge to stand with them against Washington’s tax and spend agenda,” contined Norquist.

[PDF of Press Release]

Posted by Paul Blair on Friday, August 3, 2012 3:48 PM EDT

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