Top Trump ally warns super PAC bankrolled by Dem billionaire is meddling in GOP primary

A clean energy super PAC bankrolled by a left-wing billionaire is pouring millions into an effort to unseat Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., as he wages a bid for re-election in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition super PAC has spent roughly $1 million on opposing Ogles and supporting his Republican challenger, Charlie Hatcher, Tennessee’s former commissioner of agriculture, and recently bought another $700,000 worth of ads.

The group has raised $6.7 million this year, making Ogles a sizable portion of their spending this cycle. A Fox News Digital review of FEC filings discovered that the super PAC is bankrolled by Chris Larsen, the California-based billionaire chairman of Ripple, which is described on its website as the "leading financial technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses." 

Larsen has donated $6M to the super PAC since Feb. 2026. His latest $5M donation to Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC is his second-largest single donation after donating $5,444,975 to Future Forward PAC in 2024 to support Kamala Harris's failed presidential campaign.

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Larsen has also donated over $1M to the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, over $1M between the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), over $300K supporting Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., among other six-figure donations to top Democratic campaigns and PACs.

The way that Ogles sees it, it’s an attempt to show Republicans what happens when lawmakers attempt to scale back government investments in renewable energy sources.

"When you have a group spending roughly $2 million in a Republican primary, that tells you how much money they're making off of government subsidies, and they're upset that the government welfare has been taken away from them," Ogles told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Larsen, who is an angel investor and climate philanthropist, is making "climate change his top priority," according to an online bio. 

"He founded the Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation (since renamed as the Clean Break Fund) in 2021 to guide his climate philanthropy, and is an active early investor in numerous climate tech companies, as well as several prominent climate funds," the bio continues. "His philanthropic priorities include the climate-driven home insurance crisis, making climate change a bipartisan issue once again, and carbon dioxide removal, among many other projects."

Ogles, a member of the fiscally minded House Freedom Caucus, has been one of the most outspoken Republicans calling for a reversal of energy initiatives passed under President Joe Biden. Among them, Ogles has argued against clean energy subsidies in Biden’s Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

But more than that, Ogles thinks it’s his proximity to Trump that has made him a target.

"It's because I'm close to the president. It is because I am outspoken. And quite frankly, it is because I speak plainly on these issues," Ogles said.

Trump, who has endorsed Ogles, reaffirmed his support for the conservative firebrand ahead of the primary.

"Andy will be really enshrined as one of the best congressmen that you’ll ever see. He’s just fantastic," Trump said. "Andy has always been there when we needed him and when I needed him. He’s been a great help. He’s been a source of inspiration to a lot of people in Congress."

Figures who have donated to Invest in Tomorrow framed energy policy as an issue with electoral consequences, hinting that Ogles is on the wrong side of the issue.

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"Our campaign is here to show that politicians who oppose clean energy do so at their own political peril. Andy Ogles is next," Tom Matzzie, the PAC’s executive chairman, said in a statement to Axios.

Matzzie is also CEO of a solar energy company, CleanChoice Energy.

When asked about the comment, Ogles said he doesn’t think his views are at odds with the way voters see energy and has characterized the opposition spending as an attempt to buy a seat energy groups can control.

"If trying to build an energy sector that is self-reliant, because it's a national security issue, makes me an extremist, then so be it."

Ogles said he stands by his all-of-the-above energy stance. In his view, it’s not the government’s job to pick winners and losers in the energy market — especially in light of the country’s overspending challenges.

"I'm not against solar. We have a farm. I've got a big shop. You know, I've contemplated putting solar on my shop to help to run my farm. But I don't want a government subsidy to make it work. I don't need a government subsidy to pay for it," Ogles said.

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"Look, at the end of the day, you know, I voted for conservative policies and that's what America wants right now. We're barreling towards $40 trillion in debt," he added.

The Tennessee primary will take place on Thursday, Aug. 6.