LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — The three-part 2026 election cycle, culminating in the federal government midterms in November, will be getting underway in just a few short months.
Since the late fall, a swath of new candidates have begun to emerge in congruence with incumbents announcing their intent to seek another term … making this potentially one of the busiest primary elections in recent Loudon County history.
Primary elections this year for Loudon County include all 10 County Commission seats, trustee, sheriff, circuit court clerk, county clerk, register of deeds and road superintendent, as well as even-numbered district seats on the county school board. The winners of the primary election for their respective parties will then advance to the general elections to decide a winner in August.
County general elections will also be accompanied by state and federal level primary elections, which include governor, one US Senate seat, House of Representatives 2nd District, Tennessee Senate 5th District, State House of Representatives 21st and 32nd Districts, and State Executive Committeeman and Committeewoman.
The primary elections for the Lenoir City Board of Education will also be held in August.
On the nationally recognized Election Day on Nov. 3, more local seats will still be up for grabs in congruence with the winners of those state and federal level primaries facing off. The seat of mayor for Greenback as well as four of its alderman positions will be made available for consideration, alongside three seats on the Lenoir City Council, Mayor of the city of Loudon and two of its city councilmen seats.
Two Lenoir City school board members elected during their August primary will also be on November’s ballot for the appropriate voters.
While a number of these seats and campaigns are still months away from true crunch time, the spring primary candidate pool is already a packed house. As of Feb. 9, thirty-three petitions (some of which are duplicates) have been returned out of all the available seats listed on the ballot for the May primary — with a little under a dozen petitions pulled that have yet to be returned.
The deadline for candidates to submit a fully completed petition is on Feb. 19, with the deadline for withdrawal from consideration being the following week on Feb. 26. Both deadlines are at noon.
MULTIPLE PETITIONS, ONE SPECIFIC POSITION
While some candidates have taken out multiple petitions for multiple seats, it is the express rule of the Election Commission that each candidate can only be found eligible for one specific position. Candidates who currently possess multiple petitions will have to decide which seat they intend to run for by that Feb. 19 deadline.
Loudon County Commission’s 1st District currently has six candidates poised to run between its two available seats. In seat A sees Republican Blake Moore and incumbent Republican Chase Randolph alongside lone Democratic candidate Brock Bigsby. In seat B, incumbent Bill Geames will face off against Republican Bob Gross, leaving the Democratic selection to its lone candidate Nikki Calvano.
Republican Jason Tuttle returned a petition for District 2, seat A, with independent Maureen Colvin pulling a petition out for both seats A and B in District 2, but is yet to return one for either. Brad McCall initially pulled a petition for a Republican seat, but his current submission has him listed as an independent.
Colvin will have to select one of the seats before election time. District 2’s A seat is the only Loudon County Commission seat where the current commissioner, in this case William Jenkins, isn’t expected to be seeking re-election.
Seat B for District 2 sees incumbent Rosemary Quillen currently as the only individual with a submitted petition, though she may end up running against Republican David Cook in the primary or independent Maureen Colvin, both of whom have yet to turn in a completed petition as of Feb. 3.
Incumbent Republican Bill Satterfield will be running against Republican Geoffrey Mark, with Democrat Wendy Tittsworth and Independent Don White also in the running. With District 4, it may be possible that current commissioner Gary Whitfield is the only candidate on the Loudon County Commission who runs unopposed in both his primary and general elections, pending a decision from a possible adversary in fellow Republican Brian Viars.
In District 5, incumbent Joe Morrison will potentially be facing Republican Pat Hunter in April and Democrat Matt Gentry in a general election this fall. Gentry initially pulled three petitions, two as a Democrat in both seats for the 5th District and one as an independent for seat A.
Republican Rachel Chatfield has also expressed her intent to run against incumbent Republican Van Shaver in the 5th District’s seat B, with the possibility of Democrat candidate Andrew F. Bennett III being a competitor against the winner of that Republican primary down the line.
District 6 also shows the possibility of another uninterrupted reelection, with Republican Incumbent Adam Waller currently as its only candidate to have filed a petition. Fellow Republican Chasey Hachmann, while having taken out a petition for candidacy in late December, sees her candidacy still pending a turn-in of the document.
District 7, which encompasses Tellico Village, will see Republican Rick Dramm squaring off versus incumbent Republican and current Commission Chairman Henry Cullen. Mark Gregory, a Democrat, will square off against the winner of that election come August.
While a few candidates have self-identified as “independents” during the primary election cycle, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be placed on their designated ballots in the spring, Loudon County Election Commission Administrator Susan Harrison explained.
With no party primary to run for, qualifying independent candidates will only be available for a vote in the county general elections, where they’ll be paired next to the nominees for the Republican and Democrat parties. While Loudon County will likely only see a few individuals listed as such, there is always the possibility for more than two qualifiers for a certain seat.
“Their name will not appear on the ballot until August,” Harrison said regarding independents. “You would have the Republican Party nominee, the Democrat Party nominee and … if you had 10 independents [file a petition], you’d have 10 independents.”
NO RINOS?
Republican candidates for any public office seat in Tennessee also face a pretty stringent path to candidacy. According to the Tennessee GOP’s bylaws, candidates seeking public office must qualify as a “bona fide Republican,” a designation that signals an active participation in and support of party candidates in prior elections.
The bylaws require any Republican candidate to have voted in three of the last four statewide Republican primary elections. This cycle, those requirements would include the August 2020, August 2022, March 2024 and August 2024 elections.
Relocated candidates can submit a voting record to the GOP for acceptance if their support is deemed equivalent by state standards. While waivers for exceptions can be submitted, all applications for Republican candidates are reviewed by and approved at the discretion of the TN GOP State Executive Committee.
“Any challenge to, or request for a waiver of, an individual’s qualification to seek public office as a Republican will be determined by a majority vote of the State Chairman and each SEC member who represents any portion of the district covered by the individual’s proposed candidacy.”
The TN GOP bylaws read. “Neither the SEC nor any portion or subcommittee thereof is required to follow the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, or any other standards required in American courts of law or equity in considering and determining any challenge or request for a waiver.”
OTHER COUNTY APPOINTMENTS …
Aside from the Loudon County Board of Education, most other county appointments are trending toward unopposed territory.
Republican George “Chip” Miller is running for trustee and Sheriff Jimmy Davis will be seeking reelection alongside County Clerk Riley Wampler, Circuit Court Clerk Steve Harrelson, Road Superindendent Billy Pickel and Register of Deeds Tammy Gallaher.
The Loudon County Board of Education, which has the elections of its even-numbered districts this year, may see some slight competition amongst its current sitting board members.
Incumbents LaVonne Barbour in District 2 seat A, Chairman Bobby Johnson in District 2 seat B, Kim Bridges in District 4 and Zach Cusick in District 6 will all be seeking reelection. Every incumbent candidate is also a Republican.
Maureen Colvin has picked up a petition as an independent for both seats in District 2, while the District 4 seat currently remains unopposed from its incumbent in Bridges. Voan Ivy Stone, a Democrat, has also picked up a petition in District 6. The possible contenders for each seat have yet to return their petition.
Official election day for the spring is Tuesday, May 5, with an early voting period to take place from April 15 through April 30. Voters needing an absentee ballot have until April 25 to request one.
April 6 is the last day to register to vote in this specific primary election.
As it pertains to specific district representatives throughout Loudon County, voters will only select their preferred candidate within their district, meaning that they will select two candidates for both County Commission and the school board, at most.
With petitions still eligible for submission and withdrawal, some of these candidacy matchups may not reflect what goes on the official ballot in the spring with complete accuracy.
The News-Herald will continue to report on local election coverage as more information is made available.
