{"id":5814,"date":"2025-11-25T00:17:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/380-jon-thorp-independent-veteran-running-in-tn-7-special-election-next-week-trumps-biggest-test-since-election-day-running-against-both-extremes-why-he-left-the-gop-facing-down-democra\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T00:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T00:17:00","slug":"380-jon-thorp-independent-veteran-running-in-tn-7-special-election-next-week-trumps-biggest-test-since-election-day-running-against-both-extremes-why-he-left-the-gop-facing-down-democra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/380-jon-thorp-independent-veteran-running-in-tn-7-special-election-next-week-trumps-biggest-test-since-election-day-running-against-both-extremes-why-he-left-the-gop-facing-down-democra\/","title":{"rendered":"380. Jon Thorp. Independent Veteran Running in TN-7 Special Election Next Week. Trump\u2019s Biggest Test Since Election Day. Running Against Both Extremes. Why He Left the GOP. Facing Down Democrat Super PACs BS. Hegseth and Trump Go After Senator Kelly."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=ANA6280561499\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Next week in Tennessee, the biggest and most important election since Election Day is happening. And it could be a key bellwether for the mid-term elections next year. But most of America doesn\u2019t know it\u2019s happening. Or that an independent veteran is running in it. But this fascinating and intense race is a reflection of all that is broken in American politics today. And also, may give you hope for the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Can the Republicans hold this solidly red district? Will the Democrats continue their hot streak and win again? And will this little-known independent candidate be the determining factor?<\/p>\n<p>Independent veteran Congressional candidate Jon Thorp joins Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><u>@PaulRieckhoff<\/u><\/a>) from rural Tennessee to break down his high\u2011stakes special election outside of Nashville, why he walked away from the GOP to run as a true independent, and how MAGA money, Democrat Super PACs, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, gerrymandering, and broken election rules are all stacked against independent candidates like him.\u200b We\u2019ll take you inside this fight for a Congressional seat that could alter the entire balance of power in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In this latest special \u201cMeet the Independent Candidate\u201d episode, Paul talks exclusively with the former Army soldier and independent veteran who is running in a December 2nd special election in Tennessee\u2019s 7th District\u2014a race drawn to be safely Republican but now suddenly competitive. Jon explains how a district that stretches across 14 counties from the Kentucky line down toward Alabama was carved to exclude downtown Nashville, why that gerrymander matters, and what he is hearing from disillusioned voters who feel politically homeless and ignored by both parties. Jon is facing a Trump-supported loyalist and extreme Republican Matt Van Epps, AND a Kamala Harris-supported far left Democrat Aftyn Behn\u2013and presenting himself as the moderate voice of reason in the middle. Trump is watching this race closely. You should too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And Paul also breaks down the top stories of the day\u2013including reaction to the breaking news that the cases against James Comey and Leticia James have been dropped\u2013and that Secretary of Defense and Pete Hegseth are considering launching an investigation and UCMJ legal action against political opponent, Navy Veteran and Democrat Senator Mark Kelly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories&#8211;and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It\u2019s independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve&#8211;and stay vigilant.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vO5SXOSwXrE\"><u>WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorpforcongress.com\/\"><u>Learn more about Jon Thorp and his independent campaign.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><u>Independent Veterans of America<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><u>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/u><\/a> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check the hashtag <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23LookForTheHelpers&amp;src=typed_query\"><u>#LookForTheHelpers<\/u><\/a>. And share yours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Find us on social media or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independentamericans.us\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us<\/a><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><u>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/u><\/a> now in time for the holidays.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check out other Righteous podcasts like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefirefighters.us\/\"><u>The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra<\/u><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/unclemontel.us\/\"><u>Uncle Montel &#8211; The OG of Weed<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bdorm.us\/\"><u>B Dorm<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><u>Righteous Media<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to Listen:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><strong>Spotify<\/strong><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/49a684c3-68e1-4a85-8d93-d95027a8ec64\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\"><strong>Amazon Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to watch:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social Channels<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><strong>X\/Twitter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><strong>BlueSky<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/megaphone.fm\/adchoices\">megaphone.fm\/adchoices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Next week in Tennessee, the biggest and most important election since Election Day is happening. And it could be a key bellwether for the mid-term elections next year. But most of America doesn\u2019t know it\u2019s happening. Or that an independent veteran is running in it. But this fascinating and intense race is a reflection of&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/380-jon-thorp-independent-veteran-running-in-tn-7-special-election-next-week-trumps-biggest-test-since-election-day-running-against-both-extremes-why-he-left-the-gop-facing-down-democra\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">380. Jon Thorp. Independent Veteran Running in TN-7 Special Election Next Week. Trump\u2019s Biggest Test Since Election Day. Running Against Both Extremes. Why He Left the GOP. Facing Down Democrat Super PACs BS. Hegseth and Trump Go After Senator Kelly.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",750,750,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dadae907b73ba94c8095aef6ce569fbf.jpg",800,800,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Next week in Tennessee, the biggest and most important election since Election Day is happening. And it could be a key bellwether for the mid-term elections next year. But most of America doesn\u2019t know it\u2019s happening. Or that an independent veteran is running in it. But this fascinating and intense race is a reflection of&hellip;&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}