Aug. 1 election: Candidates running for Knox County, Congress and state legislature

Allie Feinberg, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·8 min read

The primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House of Representatives are Aug. 1, and the candidate list is set.

In this round of voting, two types of elections will take place on the same day. In one section, voters will cast primary ballots to determine who they want represented in the Republican and Democratic parties for the U.S. House of Representatives, Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee Senate. That general election is in November.

In another section, voters will determine through a general election they want elected in several Knox County elections. (The primary in those races already took place in March.)

But first things first. To be able to vote, make sure you're registered by July 2. Head to sos.tn.gov/elections to get started.

Here are the candidates who qualified for the Aug. 1 election. State and federal candidates have until April 11 to withdraw, and county ballots are set.

U.S. House of Representatives

District 2

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district includes Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, Loudon and Union counties. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, has served that district since 2019. He's seeking reelection and does not have a primary challenger. There's also an uncontested Democratic primary and an independent running.

Republican

  • Rep. Tim Burchett, 59, is a career politician. He's served in elected office since 1994, including in both branches of the Tennessee Legislature and as Knox County's mayor before heading to Congress.

Democrat

  • Jane George, 61, is a Knoxville small business owner.

Tennessee Senate

District 6

The Tennessee Senate's 6th District includes the eastern part of Knox County. State Sen. Becky Massey, a Republican, has served that district since 2011. She's seeking reelection and will face a primary challenger. The Democratic candidate in uncontested.

Republican:

  • Sen. Becky Massey, 69, was the director of the Sertoma Center before her election to the Tennessee Senate.

  • Monica Irvine, 54, is a small business owner.

Democrat:

  • Domonica Bryan, 38, is an investigator with the Department of Children's Services.

Tennessee House of Representatives

District 14

The Tennessee House of Representatives 14th District includes parts of southeast Knox County. Rep. Jason Zachary, a Republican, has served that district since 2015. He's seeking reelection and will face a repeat-opponent in the general. Neither have primary challengers.

Republican:

  • Jason Zachary, 46, is a technology consultant.

Democrat:

  • Amanda Collins, 45, was a school psychologist before retiring from Knox County Schools in 2020.

District 15

The Tennessee House of Representatives 15th District includes parts of northeast as well as downtown Knoxville. Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Democrat, has served the district since 2021. He's seeking reelection and will face a primary challenger. There is also a Republican candidate running in an uncontested primary.

Republican

  • Justin Hirst, 51, is an X-ray product specialist.

Democrat

  • Knox County Commissioner Dasha Lundy, 44, is a physical therapist.

  • Rep. Sam McKenzie, 58, is retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a small business owner. He has previously served on the Knox County Commission.

District 16

The Tennessee House of Representatives 16th District includes parts of west Knox County. Michele Carringer, a Republican, has served that district since 2021. She's seeking reelection and will not have a primary challenger. There is one Democrat running to replace her.

Republican

  • Rep. Michele Carringer, 62, works in advertising. She has previously served on the Knox County Commission.

Democrat

  • Lauren Carver, 29, works at UT Gardens as a horticulturist/administrator.

Independent

  • Sean Eastham, 25, is a talent manager at KARM Stores.

District 18

The Tennessee House of Representatives 18th District includes parts of south and west Knoxville as well as east Knox County. Rep. Elaine Davis, a Republican, has served since 2023. She's seeking reelection and will not face a primary challenger. Her Democratic challenger is also unopposed in the primary.

Republican

  • Rep. Elaine Davis, 56, is retired.

Democrat

  • Bryan Goldberg, 40, is the manager of Knoxville's BELFOR office.

District 19

The Tennessee House of Representatives 19th District includes east and northeast Knox County. Rep. Dave Wright has served that district since winning election in 2018. He's seeking reelection and does not have a primary challenger. His Democratic challenger is unopposed in the primary.

Republican

  • Rep. Dave Wright, 78, is retired from AT&T. He previously served on the Knox County Commission.

Democrat

  • Siobhan Costanzo, 38, is a public health and social services evaluator.

District 89

The Tennessee House of Representatives 89th District includes southwest Knox County. Rep. Justin Lafferty has served that district since 2019. He's seeking reelection and does not have a primary challenger.

Republican

  • Rep. Justin Lafferty, 52, is a small business owner.

Democrat

  • Cary Hammond, 48, is an accountant.

District 90

The Tennessee House of Representatives 90th District includes parts of west Knoxville and parts of downtown. Rep. Gloria Johnson represented the district since 2022, after it was redrawn. Before that, she represented District 13 from 2012-2014 and 2018-2020. Johnson simultaneously is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The winner of that race will face Sen. Marsha Blackburn in November.

Democrat

  • Rep. Gloria Johnson, 61, is a retired teacher.

Knox County Commission

District 1

District 1 stretches from downtown to the northeast part of Knoxville. It includes the Burlington and Mechanicsville neighborhoods. District 1 Commissioner Dasha Lundy, a Democrat, has decided not to run for a second term, leaving the seat open.

Republican

  • Charles Frazier, 69, is a sales executive at WJBE radio.

Democrat

  • Damon Rawls, 50, is a tech consultant and small business owner.

District 2

District 2 stretches from downtown to the edge of Washington Pike and includes the Fountain City neighborhood. Commissioner Courtney Durrett is seeking reelection.

Republican

  • Debbie Phillips, 64, is a relator.

Democrat

  • Commissioner Courtney Durrett, 43, is the external affairs manager at Comcast.

Independent

  • Ethan Grantham, 34, is a detective with the Knoxville Police Department.

District 4

District 4 is in the west-central part of the county and includes the Bearden, Sequoyah and West Hills neighborhoods. It stretches down to the Tennessee River. Commissioner Kyle Ward is not running for reelection.

Republican

  • Garrett Holt, 30, is a broker at Oliver Smith Realty and Development Company.

Democrat

  • Shane Jackson, 47, is a community banker and veteran.

District 5

District 5 includes the far-west town of Farragut and the Concord neighborhood. It stretches to the border shared with Loudon County. Commissioner John Schoonmaker is term-limited and can't run for reelection.

Republican

  • Angela Russell, 59, is an accountant.

Democrat

  • S. Arthur Moore, 40, is a neurologist.

District 6

District 6 includes Hardin Valley and Karns and borders Anderson County. Commission Chair Terry Hill is running for reelection.

Republican

  • Commission Chair Terry Hill, 73, is a retired social worker.

Democrat

  • Daniel Greene, 35, is a branch manager at ORNL federal credit union.

District 8

District 8 includes the northeastern part of the county and includes Mascot and Carter. Commissioner Richie Beeler is not running for reelection.

Republican

  • Adam Thompson, 43, is a farmer.

Democrat

  • Charles Chandler, 84, is a farmer.

District 9

District 9 stretches from the Tennessee River to the county's southeastern border. Commissioner Carson Dailey is term limited and cannot seek reelection.

Republican

  • Andy Fox, 55, is an attorney.

Democrat

  • Matthew Park, 34, is a business technology consultant.

Independent

  • Stacey Bryan Smith, 55, is a radio frequency engineer.

Knox County Assessor of Property

Elected property assessors manage the office that is charged with putting a value on all properties in the county. Those values, of course, are tied to the property taxes collected for the property, though the Knox County Commission sets those.

Republican

  • Phil Ballard, 70, previously served as property assessor.

Democrat

  • Drew Harper. 31, is a property manager and developer at Newberry Group.

Knox County Law Director

Republican

  • David Buuck, 77, currently serves as Knox County Law Director.

Democrat

  • Jackson Fenner, 46, is a private practice attorney.

Knox County Board of Education

District 2

The district covers the North Knoxville communities served by Central and Fulton high schools. Incumbent Jennifer Owen is running again. She is an independent.

Democrat

  • Anne Templeton, 44, is the director of maker initiatives at the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.

Independents

  • Jennifer Owen, 56, is retired from Knox County Schools.

  • Pat Polis, 77, has served as an Army officer with three combat tours under his belt and has worked in the private sector as well as served as a pastor.

District 3

Incumbent Daniel Watson has decided not to run again because he wants to focus on his nonprofits full time. The district covers the Cedar Bluff schools.

Republican

  • Angie Goethert, 56, is a community advocate.

Democrat

  • Patricia Fontenot-Ridley, 56, is a teacher at Belle Morris Elementary School and is retiring in May.

District 5

The district covers far-west communities including Farragut. Incumbent Susan Horn has decided not to run again.

Republican

  • Lauren Morgan, 36, has three children in Farragut schools and has been involved volunteering in various capacities.

Democrat

  • Terrye Whitaker, 72,  has worked for the University of Tennessee and has served as a substitute teacher with the district.

Criminal Court Judge Division II Sixth Judicial District

Incumbent Judge Hector Sanchez, 40, ran unopposed in the primary and will be unopposed in the general.

CORRECTION: Cary Hammond is a first time candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives. Knox News mistakenly referred to her as a repeat candidate.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Aug. 1 primary and general election candidates in Knox County