Tom Cotton endorses Hagerty in U.S. Senate race

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is endorsing Republican Bill Hagerty in the Tennessee Senate race.

Cotton, like Hagerty, was a proponent of calling in active-duty military troops to put down rioting during national protests over police brutality. Manny Sethi, one of Hagerty’s main rivals for the GOP nomination, said the National Guard was better equipped for the task.

The publication of a Cotton op-ed in the New York Times titled “Send in the Troops” led the to resignation of the paper’s editorial page editor.

Proud to join @realDonaldTrump in endorsing @BillHagertyTN for US Senate.

Bill is a strong conservative who will take on China, support law enforcement & stand up for our our military.

He's a leader we need in the Senate. #TNSenhttps://t.co/qL6rNEBF5R

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) June 11, 2020

“Senator Cotton is a true conservative leader, and there are a lot of issues we see eye-to-eye on: namely, China,” Hagerty said ina release. “Senator Cotton has been leading the way on calling out the Communist Chinese Party for what it is – an authoritarian regime that has lied repeatedly to the world about the Wuhan virus. I’m honored and humbled to have Senator Cotton’s support, and I look forward to working with him to protect our conservative values in the Senate.”