Election decisions
Barker wins; commission, school board races settled
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A flock of campaign posters greeted people arrving to vote on Thursday at the Norris Community Center polling place. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Carolyn Boswell of Norris, a volunteer for Democrat Rodney Archer’s campaign for a District 3 (Norris, Andersonville) seat on the Anderson County Commission, staffs a booth outside the Norris Community Building voting precinct on election day, Thursday, Aug. 6. - G. Chambers Williams III
Republican Sheriff Russell Barker easily won re-election in the Anderson County general election last Thursday, defeating independent challenger Colt Jennings, while other countywide candidates cruised to victory running with no opposition.
Barker received 62.04% of the votes to Jennings’ 37.96%, or 7,386-4,520. Jennings, a former deputy in the department, was attempting to unseat Barker, who was running for a third four-year term.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won easily over two challengers in the Republican primary election on Thursday in her quest to succeed Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who is term-limited, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Blackburn won in Anderson County and statewide over GOP challengers U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts. Blackburn polled 43% of the vote both in Anderson County and statewide, and will face Democrat Jerri Green, who is a city council member in Memphis.
Green won nearly 76% of the vote in the Democratic primary in Anderson County, and 69 statewide, over four other candidates.
In the U.S. Senate race, GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty had no opposition in the primary, and now will face Marquita Bradshaw, who won the Democratic nomination with 51.2% of the vote in Anderson County against four opponents. This is Memphis “environmental activist” Bradshaw’s third attempt at winning a U.S. Senate seat; she lost in 2020 and 2024.
Only the incumbents qualified to run for the other five countywide positions, all in the Republican primary.
They are Rex Lynch for Circuit Court clerk, Regina Copeland for county trustee, Jeff Cole for county clerk, Tim Shelton for register of deeds, and Gary Long for road superintendent.
Property Assessor John Alley’s position is not on this year’s ballot, nor were any of the judgeships.
In Anderson County Commission races, there were at least two candidates who made the ballot to run in all eight commission districts, for the two available seats in each district. Commissioners serve four-year terms.
Three candidates for County Commission who initially filed to run as Republicans changed their petitions to run instead as independents -- Tina Graham Targonski, for District 2, Tracy Wandell for District 1, and Kevin Craig, for District 7.
The only one of those three who won was incumbent Wandell, who received the most votes in District 1 – 810. Also winning a seat in District 1 was Republican Chad McNabb, with 731 votes. The losing candidate in District 1 was Republican Raymond Neil Phillips, with 531 votes.
Four of the eight county School Board district seats were up for election this year, for a four-year term.
The open seats were in School Board Districts,1, 2, 6 and 7.
Candidates qualified for all four of the open seats, and three candidates – in Districts 1, 6 and 7 – ran as independents and were re-elected Thursday.
In the other County Commission races:
• District 2 – Republicans Denise Palmer (1,038 votes) and Michael Y. Foster (1,018) won over independent Targonski (494).
• District 3 – Republicans Shelley Vandagriff (1,218) and Shannon Gray (1,096) won over Democrat Rodney Archer (889). Vandagriff was the only incumbent; the other commissioner, Joshua Anderson, did not run because he ran an unsuccessful campaign against Terry Frank for county mayor.
• District 4 – Republicans Tim Isbel and J. Shain Vowell won re-election, with no opposition.
• District 5 –Republicans Jeff Pack (830) and incumbent Robert McKamey (705) won over Democrat Martin “Marty” May (350).
• District 6 – Democrat incumbent Ebony M. Capshaw (727) and Republican Aaron Wells (604) won over Democrat Derek Guy (548) and Republican incumbent Anthony Allen (541).
• District 7 Democrats Sharon Bourgeois Capshaw (860) and incumbent Steve Verran (596) defeated incumbent Republican Sabra Beauchamp (593) and Republican Nathan Mullins (448). Along with Democrat Kevin Craig (157).
• District 8 – Republican Jawrell Cook and Democrat Elizabeth “Liz” Henry won the two seats with identical 749 vote counts over Republican Don A. Layton (642), incumbent independent Phil Yager (589) and Democrat Ashley Craven (478).
Anderson County School Board:
• District 1 – Republican Ray Hagan (816) defeated independent incumbent Jo Williams (617).
• District 2 – Republican Katherine Birkbeck (1,284) was unopposed.
• District 6 – Independent Scott Gillenwaters (1,066) was unopposed.
• District 7 – Independent Don A. Bell (1,206) was unopposed.
