Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger speaks in this file photo.KEY DATESImportant dates for the Hamilton County primaries:• Deadline to register to vote: April 7• Absentee ballot request deadline: April 29• Early voting: April 16 – May 1• County primary: May 6
Basil Marceaux
Richard FordEDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of stories about contested races in the May 6 Hamilton County primary election.
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is seeking his first full term as the county’s executive, but he won’t enjoy a walk-in election like 13 other incumbent county officials.
Coppinger is being challenged in the May 6 Republican primary by perennial candidate and one-time Internet sensation Basil Marceaux. Marceaux is also challenging Gov. Bill Haslam for the GOP gubernatorial nod. Candidate Richard Ford is running for the mayor’s post as an independent. He will face the winner of the Republican primary in August.
If he gets the Republican vote, and wins the general election on Aug. 7, Coppinger will continue to focus on strengthening public education in the county, bringing more jobs to the area and keeping the county’s budget lean and mean, he said.