The son of Republican dairy businessman Scottie Mayfield pleaded guilty to vandalism Monday, concluding the tire-slashing saga that played a role in deflating his father's congressional campaign.

Female and male leaders in the Hamilton County Democratic Party are criticizing their chairman, Paul Smith, for including an off-color joke about women on an official business document.

Two Chattanooga City Council members picked up qualifying petitions Friday — the first day they could — but plenty more challengers showed an eagerness to begin campaigning for city elections in March 2013.

Former mayoral candidate and onetime Chattanooga Parks and Recreation administrator Rob Healy has formed an exploratory committee for a mayoral run next year, according to a news release.

Hamilton County Young Republicans Chairman George Jackson announced this morning he will run for the District 2 City Council seat now held by Sally Robinson.

Beyond carefully crafted statements, several prominent Tennessee Republicans who have called for a national debate about federal entitlement programs are refusing to evaluate Mitt Romney's belief that nearly half the nation is "dependent upon the government."

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter wanted a life after serving in Afghanistan, so he attended community college, took some classes at Middle Tennessee State University and signed off on a $20,000 student loan to pay for his studies.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has agreed to debate his Democratic challenger in one of the most conservative parts of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District.

Convicted felon and disgraced former state Sen. Ward Crutchfield will neither confirm nor deny rumors of an attempted comeback five years after he was swept up in the Tennessee Waltz public corruption sting.

On Aug. 8, Republican state Senate nominee Todd Gardenhire pledged at least two debates with Democrat Andraé McGary, saying 10th District voters deserve a chance to examine their choices.

Chattanooga City Councilman Andraé McGary skipped a City Council meeting Tuesday to campaign for state Senate, missing 14 votes and a citizen's complaint about a housing project in his district.

By almost any measure, Democratic state Sen. Eric Stewart faces an uphill financial battle against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais in the race to win Tennessee's 4th Congressional District.

Despite calls for Republican unity, some Greg Vital donors won't be supporting Todd Gardenhire's state Senate bid against a Democrat.

Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Mary Headrick said this week she would support a barge fuel tax increase to finance repair and construction at Chickamauga lock.

It's a lopsided money race in Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann holds an 8-to-1 fundraising lead over his Democratic challenger, Dr. Mary Headrick.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann dodged obstacles both physical and political Tuesday while touring the crumbling Chickamauga lock.

When asked to describe a particular presidential nominee, Tennessee Democratic congressional candidates say he's "very unpopular," "a flip-flopper" and someone who "doesn't poll very well."

University of Georgia President Michael Adams remembers 1973, when he finished his Ph.D., turned 25 and signed a $15,600-a-year contract to teach communications at Ohio State University.

About 280 Tennesseans — elected officials, delegates, alternate delegates and guests — are in Tampa this week as Republicans elevate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to the top of their ticket.

KINGSTON, Tenn. — Prosecutors expect Scottie Mayfield's son to plead guilty to vandalism in connection with a tire-slashing case left over from his father's unsuccessful congressional bid.

As Georgia prepares for runoffs in primary elections that didn't produce a clear majority winner, some Tennesseans wonder why their state isn't doing the same thing.

Known as “the city too busy too hate,” Atlanta is just that: a bustling, sprawling metropolis whose clogged interstates conceal a booming world of fun.

In baseball terms, Hamilton County voters couldn't even crack a .250 batting average -- fewer than one in four registered voters in Tennessee's fourth-largest county cast a ballot in the Aug. 2 elections.

The debate over debates shows no sign of stopping in Tennessee's 4th Congressional District.

U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais has rejected his Democratic opponent’s call to debate three times over the next month.

When they voted for their nominee, six out of 10 Republicans in Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District chose someone other than U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's office has announced two personnel changes.

Will you debate or won't you?

Chattanooga developer Greg Vital conceded Tennessee's 10th State Senate District GOP primary to Todd Gardenhire on Tuesday, declining to request a recount after statewide Republicans showed little to no interest in disputing a 39-vote margin.

Greg Vital has conceded the District 10 state Senate Republican primary to Todd Gardenhire.

Down a few dozen votes, Republican state Senate candidate Greg Vital hasn't decided if he'll attempt to clear numerous hurdles between him and a recount, a spokesman said Saturday.

Republican state Senate candidate Greg Vital will announce this week whether he’ll ask for a recount, a spokesman said Saturday.

Hamilton County Election Commission attorney Chris Clem said State Senate Republican candidate Greg Vital's public request for a recount isn't enough to get the process moving.

The Hamilton County Election Commission found 25 more votes for Todd Gardenhire in Tennessee's Senate District 10 race Friday, and now his competitor, Greg Vital, wants a total recount.

Scottie Mayfield gave up the fight Friday and conceded the 3rd Congressional District Republican primary to U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

After a bitter, expensive campaign, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann defeated Scottie Mayfield and Weston Wamp, winning Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District Republican primary and dispatching two popular challengers with built-in name recognition.

Republican state Senate candidate Greg Vital today refuted a Chattanooga Free Press editorial that said he “used his personal wealth to intimidate” candidates and would-be candidates from entering the 10th District race. “I never intimidated anyone,” Vital said.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann enjoys telling voters about legislation he has introduced to freeze government spending, eliminate capital gains taxes and abolish "wasteful" federal programs.

Third Congressional District Republicans outvoted Democrats by a margin of nearly 3-to-1 during early voting, with an especially large GOP swath across Hamilton County and smaller-than-expected numbers emerging from candidate Scottie Mayfield's home of McMinn County.

Citing "fantastic support" the night he won Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District Republican primary in August 2010, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann couldn't have known he'd be locking horns with the son of his immediate predecessor and the fourth-generation face of Mayfield Dairy Farms two years later.

Here is how candidates for the Democratic and Republican nominations for the U.S. House seat in the 3rd Congressional District responded to five questions about select issues and their campaigns.

Scottie Mayfield's congressional campaign says a top aide to U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann illegally provided the brainpower behind a television ad that claims Mayfield is "good at ice cream, not so good on the issues."

Three weeks after promising to abstain from "negative" campaign advertising, Scottie Mayfield this week launched an attack ad condemning U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's voting record — a record Mayfield praised as recently as May.

It may have been just an hour of cookies and punch, but a recent reception sponsored by East Ridge city officials for a congressional candidate is drawing questions about how local taxpayer money may be used.

From eminent domain to religious expression, Republicans usually jump to defend the rights of private property owners.

Republican Scottie Mayfield loaned his congressional bid $150,000 earlier this month, and he'll be able to increase that amount if necessary, according to personal financial disclosures filed with the government.

Republican state Senate candidate Greg Vital categorically denied sending voters incomplete and potentially damaging information about his opponent two days after saying he had "no idea" whether his campaign was responsible.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has canceled this evening’s campaign event in Chattanooga featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Republican state Senate candidate Todd Gardenhire accused his primary opponent, Greg Vital, of anonymously mailing to voters a 15-year-old request from Gardenhire's ex-wife, asking for a protective order against him, but not telling "the rest of the story" -- that a judge dismissed the entire matter nine days later.

Three months ago, Scottie Mayfield announced his record-breaking political fundraising haul a week before anyone else, basking in front-page headlines and the unprecedented 3rd Congressional District glory of raising $450,000 in seven weeks.