The winner in the three-way Republican primary race for district attorney in the 10th Judicial District credited his late father for his Super Tuesday victory.
Stephen Hatchett tallied more than 36% of the total vote in the four-county district for Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties. Incumbent appointee Shari Tayloe netted 34%, and challenger and former state lawmaker Jeff Miller drew about 30% of the total ballots cast, according to state election results. Hatchett edged Tayloe 9,535 votes to 8,998 — a difference of 537 votes or 2.3% of the total — while Miller garnered 7,920 votes.
Results are unofficial until they are certified by the respective county election commissions. No Democrats were on the ballot for the seat, so Hatchett will be unopposed in August and sworn in Sept. 1.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga-area primary election results)
In a phone call, Hatchett said he was happy with the outcome of a tough race.
The first points of focus when Hatchett assumes the post in September will be a cleanup of pending cases, improving relationships and court operations in the district and launching a new drug policy.
"We've got a backlog of cases in the court system," Hatchett said. "We've got a lot of cases that are pending between General Sessions Court and Criminal Court."
Hatchett also plans to shorten long days of court for court officials, witnesses and crime victims. He said a new drug policy will address out-of-district people committing crimes in its four counties to address drug overdoses plaguing the nation.
"If we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone transported illegal drugs across any of the county lines of the 10th Judicial District, we're going to seek the maximum penalty under the law," he said. "We can't do anything about the Southern border, but we can do something about the borders of the 10th Judicial District. When somebody crosses our borders, they need to be punished severely."
In a social media post Wednesday morning, Hatchett reflected on his father's role in his campaign.
"Last night represented a lot of things to me and my family, not just an election," Hatchett said. "As most of you know, 21 days ago I lost my Dad. For those who never met my Dad, he wore his campaign hat everywhere and he loved people. The man never met a stranger or if he did you couldn't tell it. Quite frankly, I believe the wide margin of victory in Monroe County was more of a testament to my dad than me. When he went into the hospital, he had on his campaign hat. Last night his campaign hat sat on the mantle at the Greek Cafe and it is going to be on my shelf at my office as a reminder of what's really important."
Republican Gov. Bill Lee appointed Tayloe in July after longtime DA Stephen Crump resigned to take a post as the executive director of the Tennessee District Attorney General's Conference in Nashville.
In his post, Hatchett also thanked his family and supporters who sat in the rain Tuesday holding signs. He said his faith in God made a difficult challenge easier. Hatchett again gave a nod to his father.
(READ MORE: Here's what Hamilton County voters had to say on Super Tuesday)
"He was as blue collar as blue collar gets," he said. "Construction, factories, sawmills, if it was hard work he did it. He always would tell me he wished he had made more money so he could do more for us. But what I have always took from my Dad was that he kept a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, food on the table, and he paid his taxes. That is how I have always approached public service, it is how my office will be run, and that hat sitting on that shelf will be a reminder for myself and every person in the office. The people are what are important and those tax dollars are going to be earned by working just as hard as folks like my Dad worked to pay those tax dollars."
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.