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.

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.

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.

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.

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.