A first-term member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, won his first primary as an incumbent on Thursday evening.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., fended off a challenge from Nashville Metro Council member Courtney Johnston, who ran a more moderate campaign compared to the freshman Republican.

It was a much-needed political victory for the Freedom Caucus this election cycle after its chairman, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., narrowly lost re-election in June and is facing long odds in a recount held Thursday.

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Good had been facing Republican challenger John McGuire, who was backed by House GOP national security hawks like House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.; and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., among others.

Johnston had narrowly outraised Ogles, according to financial disclosures. Her receipts through July 12 show her raising nearly $785,000 in individual contributions compared to Ogles’ total – just over $500,000.

She also tried to tie him to Good and seven other Republicans’ successful effort to oust ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last October – though Ogles was not one of the eight who voted to end McCarthy’s leadership.

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House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good is fighting for his political life in a recount on Thursday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I think the incumbent has caused chaos. The ouster of McCarthy was an absolute abomination, really. Not only for the Republican Party, but really for Congress as a whole,” she told local outlet WPLN.

Ogles had the backing of top national Republicans, however, including former President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

“Andy is working hard to Grow the Economy, Stop Inflation, Secure our Southern Border, Uphold the Rule of Law, and Defend our Second Amendment,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in May. “I was proud to help Andy flip a Democrat seat in 2022, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement for re-election. He will not let you down!”

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Ogles was endorsed by former President Trump. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

Ogles won Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District in November 2022 after its boundaries were changed to include less of Nashville’s city center, which had previously made it a solidly blue seat.

Under its current lines, however, the seat leans red – residents of the district voted for Trump over President Biden in 2020 by just over 10 points.

Ogles defeated his Democratic challenger in 2022 by similar margins.

The mother of murdered Augusta University student Laken Riley got emotional Friday at a hearing where illegal immigrant suspect Jose Ibarra learned his proposed trial date of Nov. 18. 

Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard set the proposed trial date after Ibarra, who entered the U.S. illegally from Venezuela, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in her death during his arraignment in late May. Haggard is anticipating jury selection to start on Nov. 13 and hopes to have the trial concluded by Thanksgiving. 

Laken Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, and stepfather, John Phillips were in court Friday for the status hearing. Allyson Phillips was sniffling as she entered the courtroom. Special prosecutor Sheila Ross approached her and placed her hand on Allyson’s knee to comfort her and they briefly spoke before the hearing started.  

Phillips later left the courtroom crying while holding a box of tissues. 

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Ibarra is charged with malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence, and spying. Prosecutors will seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was attacked on Feb. 22 while she was out for a run along dirt trails on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.  

Judge Haggard will likely schedule a hearing to discuss motions sometime in September or early October. Public defender Kaitlyn Beck said the defense also received a batch of evidence two weeks ago and another batch of evidence this morning. 

Ibarra is accused of causing Riley’s death by inflicting blunt-force trauma to her head and “asphyxiating her in a manner unknown to jurors,” an indictment states.  

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Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

The suspect is also accused of going to an apartment on UGA’s “University Village Housing Building ‘S,’” where he “peeped through” a window and “spied upon” a university staff member on the same day he allegedly killed Riley, the indictment alleges. 

Ibarra lived in an apartment building that sits on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running, allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”  

Allyson Phillips, Laken Riley’s mother, center, gets emotional while sitting beside Riley’s stepdad John Phillips inside the Athens-Clarke County Superior Courthouse on Friday, May 31, 2024, where Jose Ibarra pleaded not guilty to 10 counts in Riley’s death.  (Pool)

The scenic loop Riley ran that morning is easily accessible from behind Ibarra’s apartment complex. It is a five-minute walk from Ibarra’s door to the approximate scene where Riley was found dead. 

Fox News’ Chelsea Torres and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

Several of Vice President Kamala Harris’ top candidates for vice president have cleared their schedules ahead of her highly anticipated running mate announcement.

Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – the three candidates on Harris’ shortlist for vice president, all made scheduling changes ahead of the weekend.

Shapiro was originally scheduled to make three appearances at weekend fundraising events in the Hamptons in New York, but his spokesperson said his schedule has since changed.

“The governor’s trip was planned several weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,” Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for Shapiro, told The New York Times. “His schedule has changed, and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”

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Beshear will also be missing two events over the weekend: a Jackson Purchase Distillery visit on Friday and the state’s annual Fancy Farm Picnic on Saturday.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Kentucky governor’s office asking the reasoning behind not attending the events but did not receive a response.

Gov. Andy Beshear cleared some time from his schedule this weekend. (Timothy D. Easley, File)

Additionally, Buttigieg shortened an event on Friday at Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo, according to Politico.

Harris will hold her first public appearance with her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia to kick off a four-day, battleground state tour.