Rural counties' voters weigh in on local primary races

Across Southeast Tennessee, voters in rural counties picked incumbents in most offices contested in the Tuesday party primaries, with a couple of exceptions in Grundy County, where office holders fell to primary challengers.

Open posts in Franklin and Polk counties, for county mayor and county executive, respectively, drew some contenders to become the new face of the offices. A vacant seat for register of deeds in Rhea County cooked up a four-way primary race for the seat there.

Most counties had contested county commission seats, some of which won't be settled until the August general election when candidates face foes from the opposing party.

BLEDSOE

County Mayor Gregg Ridley won with a 140-vote margin over challenger Kendall Smith in the Republican primary. Ridley held the post for two terms from 2002 to 2010 when he lost to Democratic challenger Bobby Collier. Ridley defeated Collier in a rematch in 2014. Ridley will face Democrat Randy L. Clark, who ran unopposed, in August.

The race for Bledsoe's open road superintendent seat was a hot contest on both party ballots, with three contenders in the GOP primary and two in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, Robby B. Roberson's 834 votes outpaced those of Richard Keedy and Jody L. Smith, who received 704 and 364, respectively. Among the Democrats, Ricky L. Byrd edged Robert Reece 225 to 213. Roberson and Byrd will face off in August.

FRANKLIN

Longtime Democrat County Mayor Richard Stewart retired last year, leaving his seat wide open for a newcomer. On the GOP primary ballot, David Alexander's 1,724 votes defeated fellow contenders Dave Van Buskirk and Eric Trussell, who had 846 votes and 394 votes, respectively. In August, Alexander will face Eddie Clark, who was unopposed on the Democratic primary ballot.

GRUNDY

Incumbent County Mayor Michael Brady defeated challenger John Hargis 1,792 to 1,067 in the Democratic primary, but two other incumbents fell to primary challengers.

Brady will face Republican Iva Michelle Russell, who was picked for the August ballot through a caucus held by the Grundy County Republican Party earlier this year. Republicans also caucused candidates for county commission districts 1, 2 and 3.

In the race for county Circuit Court clerk, incumbent Crystal Steiffel's 1,281 votes could not outdistance challenger Penny Smartt Sons' 1,559 votes. Sons will hold the seat, since there is no Republican seeking it in August.

Incumbent Road Superintendent Hubert Dewayne "Turkey" Hargis was defeated by challenger Johnny Ray Fults 1,995 to 891. Fults will hold the seat with no GOP candidate seeking the seat in August.

Meanwhile, incumbent County Clerk Tammy Sholey held her seat against challenger Blake A. Sanders, 1,600 to 1,277, as did incumbent County Trustee Tyler McCullough, who tallied 1,983 votes to beat challenger C. David Lockhart II's 880. Again, there is no Republican candidate for the office.

MARION

Two longtime incumbents in Marion County, a Republican sheriff and a Democratic county clerk, held their posts against challengers. Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett defeated challenger Edward Slatton 1,063 to 271 in the GOP primary, while County Clerk Dwight Minter beat challenger Kimberli Joetta Ramsey 1,152 to 151 in the Democratic primary.

MEIGS

Incumbents in Meigs County faced down primary challengers on Tuesday. Incumbent County Mayor Bill James, with 1,276 votes, defeated challengers Jerry W. Beavers and Charles Lynn King, who had 693 and 305 votes, respectively, in the Republican primary.

Incumbent County Trustee Stacie Goforth Hyde beat challenger Helen Ann Aikman 1,433 to 728 in the GOP primary. Likewise, incumbent Republican Sheriff Jackie Melton defeated challenger John Wayne Irwin Jr. 1,549 to 799.

POLK

In the Democratic primary for county executive, Mitchell R. Hicks defeated Kelley Morgan 816 to 769 for the seat vacated by longtime County Executive Hoyt Firestone, who decided last year not to run. Hicks will face Republican Shawn Pritchett in August.

In the Democratic primary for county clerk, Annie Henderson tallied 798 votes to beat Kalin Bishop Morris and Carole Smith Norwood, who garnered 613 and 200 votes, respectively.

RHEA

The ballot in Rhea County had only one contested race on the Republican ballot - for register of deeds - and Teresa Hulgan won a four-way race, garnering 1,835 votes to outpace fellow contenders Diane "Dicy" Brown, Adam Hurst and James Nevans, who had vote tallies of 939, 306 and 235, respectively.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.