Tennessee election results: County mayor, sheriff

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – In addition to the state and federal primary elections, which saw Nashville physician Jason Martin emerge as the frontrunner to take on Gov. Bill Lee in November over Memphis attorney and councilman JB Smiley Jr. and Republican and Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles picked to battle Democrat Heidi Campbell for the 5th Congressional District, Tennesseans also took to the polls to vote in local general elections.

Municipalities across Tennessee cast their ballot for candidates for county mayor, sheriff, judges and more. Here’s how the county mayoral and sheriff’s races turned out across Middle Tennessee.

Bedford County

Chad Graham won a second term in office as Bedford County Mayor, defeating a challenge from Independent Misty Pellar. Graham, a Republican, secured 2,791 votes to Pellar’s 1,250.

Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing ran for reelection unopposed, securing 3,668 complimentary votes from the electorate.

Benton County

Mark Ward took the mayoral win in Benton County, unseating Brett Lashlee with a decisive victory. Ward took home 2109 votes from the Benton County general election. He had more than 1900 votes over the second place candidate, Randy Shannon, and more than double Lashlee’s 959 votes.

Benton County Sheriff Kenny Christopher, however, survived a challenge from Josh Hedge. The incumbent ended the night with 2,853 votes to Hedge’s 1,260.

Cannon County

Independent Greg Mitchell will be the new Cannon County Executive. He defeated Republican Corey Davenport in the general election, according to unofficial results from the Cannon County Election Commission.

Mitchell ended Election Night with 1,755 votes to Davenport’s 1,354, to succeed Brent Bush.

Incumbent Sheriff Darrel Young handily secured reelection Thursday night, taking more than 60% of the vote. He ended Election Night with 1863 votes, easily putting challengers Brad Hall and John House in second and third place with 792 and 445 votes, respectively.

Coffee County

A former member of the Tennessee General Assembly will reenter the political field, albeit on a smaller scale as the mayor of Coffee County.

Judd Matheny, who previously served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for District 47 in the 103^rd through 109^th General Assemblies, won the Coffee County general election Thursday, Aug. 4, to succeed outgoing Mayor Gary Cordell.

Matheny beat out a challenge from Independent Margaret Cunningham by a two-to-one margin, securing 5,736 votes to Cunningham’s 2,834.

Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin was granted another term in office, securing 5,252 votes over two Independent challengers Brandon Tomberlin, who netted 2,199 votes, and Danny Ferrell, who came in third with 1,183.

Cumberland County

Cumberland County saw both its county mayor and sheriff races hold no challengers, and both incumbents were reelected handily.

Mayor Allen Foster netted 7,886 complimentary votes, while Sheriff Casey Cox secured 8,309.

Decatur County

Both the mayoral and sheriff’s races in Decatur County saw the candidates run unopposed.

Decatur County Mayor Mike Creasy picked up 2,419 complimentary votes to serve another term in office.

The sheriff’s race saw only Republican Dale King run. He ended the night with 2,213 complimentary votes to succeed Sheriff Keith Byrd.

Dekalb County

In the mayoral race, Republican Matt Adcock bested Democrat Mike Foster to be the next Dekalb County executive. He secured 2,597 votes from the Dekalb County electorate, while Foster had 1,952.

Sheriff Patrick Ray ran for reelection unopposed, however, and picked up 3,844 complimentary votes.

Franklin County

Republican Chris Guess was victorious Thursday night for the mayor’s seat. Guess snagged 3,756 votes, edging out Independent challenger Eddie Clark, who ended Election night with 3,610 ballots. Guess will succeed David Alexander.

Two other Independents, Brian Crisp and Gene Snead, received 165 and 607 votes, respectively, for a distant third- and fourth-place finish.

Incumbent Sheriff Tim Fuller, and Independent, was elected to another term in office, netting 3992 votes by the time the polls closed. He bested Independent Brian Brewer’s 2,494 votes and Republican Greg King’s 1,740.

Grundy County

Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady easily overcame a challenge from Glenn Anthony “Bumper” Nunley Thursday night. The incumbent secured 2,093 votes to Nunley’s 889.

The sheriff’s race saw an end to the current administration. Sheriff Clint Shrum was unseated by Heath Gunter in a narrow race. Shrum took home 1,455 votes while the challenger ended Election Night with 1,618.

Hickman County

Less than half a percentage point separates the new mayor of Hickman County from the second place finisher, according to unofficial election results from the Hickman County Election Commission.

Incumbent Mark Bentley, an Independent, was narrowly defeated by Republican Jim Bates for the mayor’s seat. Bates ended the night with 2415 votes to Bentley’s 2396 a .38% difference, to become the new mayor of Hickman County.

A third candidate, Independent Betty Pak, came a distant third with 165 votes.

In the sheriff’s race, four Independents were vying for the top law enforcement spot, but Jason Craft emerged victorious with 2197 votes. Coming up just short was Jonathan Aydelott with 2130 votes, followed by Barry Cayce and David Howell a distant third and fourth with 618 and 88 votes, respectively.

Craft succeeds Sheriff Randal Ward.

Jackson County

County Mayor Randy Heady will serve another term in office, as he took home the most votes in his race, defeating two challengers to the mayor’s office. Heady ended Election Night with 1574 votes, followed by Josh Locke with 915 and Kim Denson with 629.

Sheriff Marty Hinson also easily retained his seat, picking up 1,734 votes to beat two challengers himself. Chris Carter came second with 846, followed by Brad Stafford with 561.

Lawrence County

David Aaron Morgan won the County Executive seat. The Republican defeated Independent Mara Lerner 5,640 to 3,896, according to unofficial results.

Sheriff John Myers handily won reelection, defeating two Independent challengers in his bid to remain in his seat. The Republican garnered 6234 votes, more than double Gary Mills, who ended the night with 2,155. Rick Osborn finished a distant third with 1,397 votes.

Lewis County

Lewis County Mayor Jonah Keltner narrowly edged out a challenge from Shane Blackwood to retain his seat. Keltner ended the night with 1,364 votes, just 21 votes over Blackwood’s 1,343.

Sheriff Swayne Kilpatrick was unopposed in his race to remain in his seat. He picked up 2,249 complimentary votes by the time the polls closed.

Macon County

Macon County Mayor Steve Jones will continue to serve in that capacity, as he ran unopposed for another term in office. He picked up 4,159 complimentary votes in the Thursday general election.

Sheriff Mark Gammons, however, has been unseated, coming in second to Republican Joseph “Joey” Wilburn. The Republican secured 3,109 votes in the election to Gammons’ 2,180.

Marshall County

The Marshall County race saw two incumbents run unopposed in the mayoral and sheriff’s races.

Marshall County Mayor Mike Keny picked up 4,554 complimentary votes while Sheriff Billy Lamb snagged 4,922 complimentary votes.

Maury County

Sheila Butt was the big winner for the Maury County Mayoral race. She ended the night with 7,110 votes, besting second-place finisher Charlie Norman by less than 1,000 votes. Norman finished just 928 behind Butt with 6,182 total votes. A third contender, David Baker, came last with 2,443 votes.

Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland ran for another term in office unopposed. He secured 14,043 complimentary votes from the Maury County electorate.

Overton County

The Democratic Overton County Mayor, Ben Danner, was unseated by a Republican challenger in Steven Barlow by the end of Election Night. Barlow secured 2,281 votes, narrowly defeating the incumbent’s 2,084.

Another incumbent, Sheriff John Garrett, however, ran unopposed. He received 3,299 complimentary votes.

Pickett County

County Executive Carey Garner was unseated nearly two-to-one by Democrat Stephen Bilbrey, according to unofficial results from the Pickett County Election Commission. Bilbrey ended the night with 1,112 votes over the incumbent Republican’s 665.

Sheriff Dana Dowdy, however, ran unopposed and received 1,428 complimentary votes on the night.

Putnam County

Both County Mayor Randy Porter and Sheriff Eddie Farris ran unopposed for their seats in the Putnam County general election.

Porter secured 7,328 votes by the end of Election Night, while Farris netted 7,352.

Both officials are Republicans.

Smith County

Incumbent Mayor Jeff Mason was unopposed in his reelection bid, picking up 3,160 complimentary votes from the Smith County electorate.

Sheriff Steve Hopper also ran for reelection unopposed, taking home 3,296 complimentary votes from Smith County voters. Hopper has been sheriff in Smith County since 2010.

Trousdale County

Incumbent Mayor Stephen Chambers was unseated by Jack B. McCall. McCall ended Election Night with 903 votes to Chambers’ 808. A third candidate, William “Bill” Ferguson also netted 596 votes when the polls closed in Trousdale County.

Sheriff Ray Russell retained his seat in a decisive victory, taking home 1,705 votes over challenger Daniel Gunter, who ended with 592.

Warren County

Warren County saw both incumbents for county executive and sheriff unseated by their challengers.

County Executive Jimmy Hale, an Independent, came in second to Republican Terry L. Bell. Bell ended the night with 5,291 votes to the incumbent’s 3,433.

Incumbent Sheriff Tommy E. Myers, also an Independent, was edged out by Republican Jackie Matheny. Matheny ended Election Night with 4432 votes to Myers’ 4345 – a difference of just 87 votes.

White County

Incumbent County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson, a Republican, wan unopposed for another term in office. He secured 3,136 complimentary votes, according to unofficial results.

Additionally, incumbent Sheriff Steve Page, also a Republican, ran unopposed to continue serving as the top law enforcement officer in White County. He netted 3,438 complimentary votes by the end of Election Night.