Hamilton County’s general election Aug. 6 is about three weeks away. Since the primaries, County Commission candidates have collectively raised about $65,000 across six contested races.
Five out of six of those races involve an incumbent Republican commissioner facing a Democratic challenger. The other race is an incumbent Democrat commissioner facing an independent challenger. Since May, Democrats have raised more overall in their races, receiving about $37,000 across all candidates. The Republican candidates, by contrast, have raised about $28,000 in that same time frame.
But on average, Republican candidates have more than triple the funds in their campaign bank accounts than Democrats, according to their mid-July campaign finance reports – about $6,000 on hand for the average Democrat and $22,000 on hand for the average Republican.
That’s partially because since the beginning of 2025, before any of the sitting commissioners had publicly announced challengers, many Republican incumbents raised tens of thousands leading up to election season. Most of the incumbents also had leftover campaign dollars from previous election cycles.
From the May primaries onward, Republican candidates have also outspent Democrats by a slim margin. Democrats have spent about $4,000 per candidate, and Republicans have spent about $6,000 per candidate on average.
But the biggest spender since May is a Democratic challenger, Montrell Besley, who also has received the most donations of the 12 candidates in contested races in that same time frame.
Nearly all commissioners this election cycle either had a challenger in the primaries or will face one in the general election, with the exception of Commissioner Ken Smith, R-Hixson. Five commissioners faced primary challengers in May. Commissioner Greg Beck, D-North Brainerd, lost to his challenger, Katherlyn Geter. The rest of the incumbents won their primaries.
(READ MORE: What to know about Hamilton County’s August 2026 election)
Early voting will run until Aug. 1. Here’s a breakdown of the candidates’ campaign finance reports in contested races:
DISTRICT 1
Soddy-Daisy, Sale Creek, Mowbray Mountain
Incumbent Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy, has received about $3,500 in donations since May, on top of $22,500 since the beginning of 2025. He’s spent close to $12,000, leaving about $14,000 on hand.
His largest individual donation comes from County Mayor Weston Wamp‘s newly created political action committee called the W PAC. The committee gave him $2,000.
Other large donations of $1,900 each have come from U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah; Wamp’s campaign; and former Republican state Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain. He’s also received $3,000 from members of the Higgins family, owners of development company Higgins Construction.
Several other notable donations include $1,000 each from developers William Hedgecoth and Burt Schaerer; Soddy-Daisy contractor George Luttrell; Soddy-Daisy basketball coach Alex Vaughn; mechanical contractor Richard Pollard; and BoWPAC, the political action leadership committee run by state Sen. Bo Watson, R-North Chattanooga.
His Democratic challenger, Mona Petro, has raised $2,000 since May on top of $6,000 earlier in the year, when she announced her candidacy. Petro, who lives in Soddy-Daisy, has spent $3,700, leaving a little under $5,000 on hand.
Her largest donation of $1,900 comes from Olan Mills II, a major Democratic donor who cofounded the political action committee Battleground Tennessee, though it has not been active since 2015. She also received $500 from Dale Schmick, who founded Gig City Property Management.
She’s also received $375 from the Brighter Future Fund, a Chattanooga-based political action committee led by former local Democratic Party Vice Chair Kathy Lennon. The committee has endorsed only Democratic candidates on its website.
DISTRICT 2
Signal Mountain, Walden, Fairmount
Incumbent Commissioner Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, has received about $7,800 since May. Before that, he had raised about $29,000 since the beginning of 2025, and then he faced Republican challenger Brad Wardlaw in the primaries and won. Baker has spent about $17,000, leaving about $40,000 on hand with some funds left from previous election cycles.
Counting the beginning of 2025 onward, Baker has raised the most of any candidate in contested general election races, and he also has the most on hand.
His largest donation thus far has come from developer Flipper Bend, which is led by Jim Morrison and Randy Brooks. The company gave him $2,500.
Other large donations have come from people like Fleischmann, former Chattanooga Mayor Jon Kinsey, Georgia Home Health Services CEO Tom Poteet and developer John “Thunder” Thornton, who built a large subdivision on Aetna Mountain. Each gave him $1,000.
In his most recent report, Chattanooga Concessions and Catering, a company that listed its employer as the Chattanooga Lookouts, gave him $1,000. Others, like Hazlewood and the owners of East Ridge-based TPC Print and Packaging, also gave him $1,000.
Amanda Sovago-Royal, his Democratic opponent who lives at the foot of Signal Mountain, has raised a little under $800. None of her individual donations have come in over $100. She’s spent a little over $500, leaving about $200 on hand.
DISTRICT 6
North Shore, Red Bank, Lupton City
Incumbent Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, has raised close to $5,900 since May, on top of $17,700 raised since the beginning of 2025. He’s spent about $9,900, leaving $17,700 on hand – including some funds left over from the most recent election cycle.
His largest donations include $2,000 from Cherie Martinez, a retired pilot, plus $1,900 each from Mills and Robert Mills. Sharpe has also received $1,900 from real estate agent James Robinson, $1,900 from attorney Mark Warren and $1,500 from developer Eric Fuller, CEO of LFG Homes.
Other notable donors include Kinsey as well as Lookouts investors Foy and Todd Phillips, who each gave Sharpe $1,000.
His challenger, Red Bank resident Justin Pinkerton, is an independent candidate. Pinkerton’s only reported donation is $50 from Pierre Pinkerton, chief financial officer of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, plus $950 in in-kind contributions for website services. He has reported no expenses.
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DISTRICT 7
East Brainerd, Cannondale, Apison
Incumbent Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, has fundraised about $1,600 since May, on top of $30,000 before that. He’s spent about $7,600, leaving $29,800 on hand with some left over from the previous election cycle.
His largest donations of $1,900 each come from Jason Farmer, owner of River Stone Construction, as well as attorney Mark Litchford. Helton has also received $1,300 from Cagle family members, owners of Cagle Development; $1,500 from Connect Sports CEO Jill Higdon; and $1,500 from state Rep. Esther Helton-Hayes, R-East Ridge, who is his mother.
He also received $1,500 from the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ political action committee.
Other notable donors include Wamp and Kinsey, who each gave him $1,000.
His Democratic challenger, Laura Bertrand, who lives in Ooltewah, has received $2,700 in donations. She’s spent a little over $400, leaving close to $2,300 on hand.
Her largest donor is John Trow Books, a retired doctor who lives in Atlanta. He gave her $1,500.
DISTRICT 8
East Ridge, Brainerd Hills, Hamilton Place
Incumbent Commissioner Mike Chauncey, R-East Ridge, has raised $14,300 since May – up from no donations since the beginning of 2025. He’s spent about $11,500 of those funds, leaving about $7,700 on hand, accounting for money left over from the previous election cycle.
His largest donation of $4,500 came from a political action committee led by the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga. He’s also received $1,900 from Wamp’s campaign and $1,500 from Wolftever Development.
Other large donations include $1,000 each from Farmer, the developer who also gave to Helton; Evan Greene, owner of EPG Homes; and Jay Bell, owner of Bell Development.
His opponent, Democrat and East Ridge resident Josh Wichman, has raised about $7,000 since announcing his candidacy earlier this year. He’s spent about $3,000 of those funds, leaving about $4,000 on hand.
Wichman’s largest donation has come from Wendy Osborn, who owns Osborn Solutions in East Ridge. She gave Wichman $1,300. He’s also received $1,200 from the political action committee Brighter Future Fund. Krissa Barclay, director of the Hamilton County Schools Foundation, is another notable donor. Barclay gave him $400.
DISTRICT 11
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Valley, St. Elmo, Alton Park, East Lake, Missionary Ridge
Incumbent Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, has received about $780 in donations since May, on top of $9,800 since the beginning of 2025. He spent no campaign funds from the beginning of 2025 until now, according to his campaign finance reports. He has $18,700 on hand, with some funds left over from previous election cycles.
His largest donation was $1,900 from Hazlewood, the former Republican state representative.
He’s received $1,000 donations from Susan Townsend, business manager at Gary’s Bail Bonds; Frank and Nicole May, who run Timberroot Rustic Retreats; The Emerson Group, a corporate strategy firm; Wolftever Management, local property managers; and Kinsey.
By contrast, Democratic challenger and Alton Park resident Besley has out-raised and outspent Graham – the only challenger to do so thus far against their respective opponents.
Besley has received $20,100 in donations since May, on top of $12,000 since the beginning of 2026. He’s spent $22,400, leaving a little under $9,000 on hand.
His largest donation of $5,000 has come from the local ironworkers union. He’s also received $750 from the local insulators union.
The Brighter Future Fund gave Besley $1,200, the same amount as Wichman.
His largest individual donor is Al Douglas, a product owner at insurance company Unum. Douglas has given Besley $1,700. He’s also received $1,200 from Todd Odell, who works as a specialist at insurance company Cigna, and $1,000 from Ted Alling, an executive at venture capital company Brickyard.
Contact city and county reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.