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Khristy Wilkinson is Democratic choice to face Todd Gardenhire for state Senate seat

Khristy Wilkinson
Khristy Wilkinson Khristy Wilkinson

By Steve Johnson 4 min read

Vote totals

Republican primary: Todd Gardenhire – 6,057UnopposedDemocratic primary: Khristy Wilkinson – 2,662Nick Wilkinson – 2,111 Ty O’Grady – 1,335All vote totals are unofficial until certified by the Election Commission; some vote totals include write-in votes

photo Todd Gardenhire

Democratic voters Thursday chose neighborhood activist Khristy Wilkinson as their nominee for the District 10 state Senate seat. She will face incumbent Republican Todd Gardenhire in November.

Wilkinson, who is the vice president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association and an adjunct professor at UTC, had 43.5 percent of the vote, compared to 35 percent for Nick Wilkinson, the city of Chattanooga’s deputy director for economic development. The Wilkinsons are not related.

Entrepreneur Ty O’Grady was in third place with 22 percent.

Both Khristy Wilkinson and Nick Wilkinson campaigned on expanding health care in Tennessee. The incumbent, Gardenhire, was one of a handful of state senators who successfully blocked a vote by the full Senate on Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed legislation to expand Medicaid.