Republicans may enjoy super majorities in the state Senate and House, but that doesn't mean every GOP member of the Hamilton County delegation will have a cakewalk to re-election.
Indeed, only state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, among the delegation, has no opposition in the August primary and November general election and, after the qualifying deadline passed Thursday, is guaranteed another term.
Perhaps believing - soundly - that if first-term office-holders aren't defeated they'll be in office until they decide otherwise, Democrats have mounted opposition to freshmen Republican state Reps. Patsy Hazlewood and Marc Gravitt and state Sen. Todd Gardenhire.
Hazlewood and Gravitt will be opposed in the November general election by Steve Gordon in District 27 and Katie Cowley in District 30, respectively. None of the four will have an August primary opponent.
Gravitt and Cowley also will face independent Patrick Hickey.
Qualified candidates
List of candidates who qualified to run for office in Southeast Tennessee
If Democrat state Rep. JoAnne Favors in District 28 and Republican state Rep. Mike Carter in District 29 dispatch primary challenges in August, they'll face no opposition in November to their seventh and third terms, respectively.
The way the districts are set up, it is the incumbents' race to lose. None at the moment looks to be in poor shape, but the campaign against the plain-speaking Gardenhire is likely to be well-financed.
However, the people of Hamilton County are always served better if their elected officials are opposed and must defend their records.
Each of the four Hamilton County Board of Education members up for re-election will have an opponent in the nonpartisan election in August, and at least two of the four are thought to be vulnerable.
Dr. Jonathan Welch in District 2 and Donna Horn in District 7 are both concluding their first terms, while Rhonda Thurman in District 1 and George Ricks in District 4 are finishing their fourth and second terms, respectively.
Welch and Horn will have one opponent apiece, while Thurman faces two and Ricks three.
Among challengers, Dr. Patti Skates offers an impressive resume of both civic and education leadership in District 1, Tiffanie Robinson in District 4 is an entrepreneur and president of Lamp Post Properties and Joe Wingate in District 7 is a college baseball coach and popular former area high school coach. Whether those backgrounds translate into votes against the various incumbents remains to be seen.
In the U.S. House race, Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann will have primary opposition from Geoffery Smith. Democrats Michael Friedman, George Ryan Love and Melody Shekari will vie to face the winner, and independent Topher Kersting will be a third candidate in November.
Unless things change dramatically, the 3rd District incumbent looks to have his easiest race to date, but he would be the first to say he takes nothing for granted.