NASHVILLE – Republican businessman and entrepreneur Greg Vital of Georgetown has reported raising $21,000 so far in the special Tennessee House District 29 race, while Democrat DeAngelo Jelks of Ooltewah has raised $10,700.
The two men are unopposed in their respective July 27 Republican and Democratic primaries. The general election for the seat, left open by the death of House Civil Justice Committee Chairman Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, is Sept. 14.
Vital, 64, is chairman, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living and Independent HealthCare, which operates senior centers across the state. Vital disclosed making $10,000 in loans of his own funds to his campaign in mid-June.
He reported raising $11,000 from donors, according to his report filed this week. Top Vital donors included JMS PAC, associated with payday loan titan Allan Jones of Cleveland, Tennessee, which gave $1,500.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, Tennessee, contributed $2,500 to Vital’s primary through his Lamberth PAC. Other donors included Map Engineers LLC of Chattanooga, which gave $1,600, as did Chattanooga architect Pat Neuhoff. CPA Robert Decosimo contributed $1,000.