View our 2018 Voter Guide
In August general elections across Southeast Tennessee, voters will change the face of most county governments from the county commission level to the top county offices.
Nonpartisan Sequatchie County has some of the hottest races in the region for August including a four-way showdown for sheriff, a five-way battle for road superintendent and a two-man tilt for county executive. Meanwhile, Coffee County has, by far, the most contested seats with more than a dozen county commission district races and nearly all of its major elected offices on the ballot.
BALLOT BLITZ
Below are the major offices on the ballot in 10 rural Southeast Tennessee counties outside of Hamilton and Bradley counties.Bledsoe: County Mayor, Road Superintendent, Circuit Court Clerk, two County Commission districtsCoffee: County Mayor, Sheriff, Road Superintendent, County Trustee, County Clerk, Circuit Court Clerk, Register of Deeds, and 14 County Commission districtsFranklin: County Mayor, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and 9 County Commission districtsGrundy: County Mayor, Road Superintendent and 3 County Commission districtsMarion: 5 County Commission districtsMcMinn: County Clerk, 2 County Commission districtsMeigs: Circuit Court Clerk, Register of Deeds, 1 County Commission districtPolk: County Executive, County Clerk, Clerk of Courts and 3 County Commission districtsRhea: County Executive, Sheriff, and 8 County Commission districtsSequatchie: County Executive, Sheriff, Roads Superintendent, County Trustee, Circuit Court Clerk, and 6 County Commission districtsSource: Southeast Tennessee August general election ballots
Candidates will battle for county mayor - or county executive in some counties - in Bledsoe, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties. Circuit court clerks, sheriffs and roads chiefs comprise contests in at least four regional counties.
There also are contests for trustee, county clerk and register of deeds on some ballots, while county commission seats are contested in all 10 region counties, not including Bradley County, which has been reported on separately.
Coffee County has 14 contested district commission races, all nine of Polk County's commission seats are on the ballot, and Franklin County has contests for nine of its 16 commission seats. Rhea County will have all but one of its nine commission seats on the ballot, according to region general election records.
SEQUATCHIE
Hopefuls stormed in after longtime Sequatchie County Sheriff Ronnie Hitchcock announced months ago he would not seek a fifth term, creating a four-man cage match for the vacancy that includes William H. Barker, Paul (Thomas) Mahoney II, Bill Phillips and Coy M. Swanger, records show. Sequatchie holds no partisan primaries, so several races are multi-candidate faceoffs.
Sequatchie's race for road superintendent includes incumbent Tommy Sims and four challengers - Shawn Cordell, Steve Harmon, Eric D. Higgins and Anthony "Tony" Roberson - in a five-way race. Elsewhere on the ballot, County Executive D. Keith Cartwright is seeking to hold his seat for a second term by staving off a challenge from Greg Griffith. Another longtime seat holder, Circuit Court Clerk Karen L. Millsaps, will be challenged by two hopeful candidates, Lynn Harmon and Rhonda Rheal. And longtime Trustee Larry S. Lockhart will face challenger Rusty Cheathem.
Sequatchie voters in six of nine county commission districts also will decide contested races on the ballot. Voters will see nonpartisan contests for two available seats in districts 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
POLK
In Polk County, voters will cast ballots for county executive, county clerk, clerk of courts and county commission. Since longtime County Executive Hoyt Firestone is not seeking to hold his seat, voters will see a four-way contest among Republican Shawn Pritchett, Democrat Mitchell R. Hicks, and independents Robby Hatcher and Andrew Jones, records show.
The county clerk's post also is up for grabs, with Democrat Annie Henderson and Independent Jackie (Keith) Rogers vying for the seat, while Democratic incumbent Clerk of Courts Connie Clark faces Republican hopeful Melissa Keith. In county commission races, District 1 voters will choose three from a lineup of one Republican, three Democrats and two independent candidates. In commission District 2, a Republican and three Democrats are seeking three available seats. In commission District 3, all three seats are sought by even numbers of Republicans and Democrats.
COFFEE
Coffee County has the most contested races on a single county ballot. Two-thirds of Coffee County's 21 commission districts - 14 of them - have contested races on the ballot. There are also battles for county mayor, trustee, sheriff, circuit court clerk, county clerk, register of deeds and road supervisor, records show.
The showdown for county mayor includes Republican Gary L. Cordell, Democrat David Pennington and independent Tim Brown; the race for trustee is between Republican John H. Marchesoni and Democrat Robin Dunn; sheriff is between Democrat Stephen M. Graves and Republican Chad H. Partin; circuit court clerk includes Republican Natalie Brooke Dotson and Democrat Heather Hinds Duncan; county clerk is between Republican Jenna Amacher and Democrat Teresa Henegar McFadden; register of deeds includes Republican Donna Toney and Democrat Teresa Wright; and road superintendent is between Republican Benton Bartlett and Democrat Ronnie Dale Watts, records show.
Candidate signs are seen at the Sequatchie County Courthouse on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 in Dunlap, Tenn. In August General Election across Southeast Tennessee, Coffee County is unique in having, by far, the most contested seats -— including 14 county commission districts and all its constitutional offices - while Sequatchie County has some of the hottest races, including a four-way battle for sheriff and all but two of its constitutional offices.REGION ROUNDUP
Most of the region's other counties have at least one or two significant races - particularly for county mayor.
BLEDSOE
Some Bledsoe County incumbents face contests including Republican County Mayor Gregg Ridley, who is challenged by Democrat Randy L. Clark, and Republican Circuit Court Clerk Michael Walker, who will take on challenger Democrat Bradley S. Hargis. Meanwhile, Republican Robby B. Roberson, Democrat Ricky L. Byrd and Independent Tobe Smith will battle in a three-way contest for road superintendent. Just two county commission races - 1st District, Part A, and 5th District, Part A - are contested with two contenders from each party challenging for the two posts.
FRANKLIN
Longtime County Mayor Richard Stewart did not seek reelection, so that opened the Franklin County mayor seat up to Republican David Alexander and Democrat Eddie Clark, who are wrangling for the post. Longtime incumbent Democrat Sheriff Tim G. Fuller is challenged by Republican Paul Edward Sweeton. Two candidates are vying for Register of Deeds, Republican Denise Ingle Marshall and Independent Mark DeBoard.
Not unlike neighboring Coffee County to the north, Franklin County voters will see most of the county commission seats on the ballot. One of two commission district seats are up for grabs in districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, while both district seats are contested in districts 4 and 8, records show. District 7's two seats are uncontested.
GRUNDY
Incumbent Democrat Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady is challenged by Republican Iva Michelle Russell and independent Eddie L. Patton, records show. With the incumbent falling in the May primary, the candidates for road superintendent are Democrat Johnny Ray Fults and Independent Michael E. Meeks.
In county commission races, District 1 has a five-way race for three seats - a Republican, two Democrats and two independents; District 2 has two Republicans taking on two Democrats for three seats; and District 3 has a Republican and three Democrats seeking those three seats, records show.
MARION
Marion County has five contested local races in four county commission districts, records show. Voters will choose a candidate from two partisan candidates for 1st District, Seat A; 2nd District, Seat A; 3rd District, Seat B; and 5th District, Seat A and Seat B.
McMINN
McMinn County voters will see contested races for county clerk and county commission. Incumbent Democrat County Clerk Evonne Hayes is being challenged by Republican Melinda King. In a County Commission 2nd District contest, two Republicans and a Democrat face off for two seats, and in a 4th District commission race, two Republicans are battling with a lone Democrat for two available seats.
Candidate signs are seen at the Sequatchie County Courthouse on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 in Dunlap, Tenn. In August General Election across Southeast Tennessee, Coffee County is unique in having, by far, the most contested seats -— including 14 county commission districts and all its constitutional offices - while Sequatchie County has some of the hottest races, including a four-way battle for sheriff and all but two of its constitutional offices.MEIGS
In Meigs County, incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Darrell Davis, a Democrat, faces Republican challenger Lisa (Monroe) Oliver; while incumbent Register of Deeds Janie Bennett Stiner, another Democrat, is challenged by Republican Joyce A. Judd. Voters in County Commission District 2 will choose from a Democrat, Republican and independent for two seats.
RHEA
In Rhea County, longtime incumbent Democrat Sheriff Mike Neal will face Republican challenger Cary W. Taylor, while incumbent County Executive George Thacker, who is running as an independent, is challenged by Dean Smith and Laura W. Travis, both of whom also are running as independents.
There are contested races in county commission districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 with a combined 22 candidates seeking 8 district seats. Records show 21 of the 22 commission candidates are running as independents.
12TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT CHANCELLOR
In the 12th Judicial District counties of Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie, voters will choose a new chancery court judge to serve out the unexpired term of longtime Chancellor Jeffrey F. Stewart, who in June announced his early retirement. Stewart's term ends in 2022.
Republican Missy Thomas Blevins, of Marion County, has entered the fray, and David Stewart, of Franklin County, qualified as an independent.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.