July 28, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
If early voting in DeKalb County is any indication the turnout for the August 1 elections locally on Thursday may fall far short of the result four years ago in August.
Early voting ended Saturday and during the two-week period a total of 668 cast ballots in DeKalb County including 627 in person and 41 absentees. Four years ago in a similar August election, a total of 3,266 cast ballots (total) including 1,665 on election day, 1,270 walk-in early voting, and 331 paper absentees.
The reason for the lighter turnout is likely because hardly any race is contested Thursday except for US Senate and House primary races and there is an active write-in campaign in Alexandria for Municipal mayor and aldermen seats.
Of the 668 who voted early locally in this election, 520 cast ballots in the Tennessee Republican Primary and 129 in the state Democratic Primary. Nineteen voted in only the County General Election without participating in primary.
On Saturday, July 27, a total of 58 voted including 48 in person and 10 by absentee. Of the 58, a total of 50 cast ballots in the state Republican Primary and 8 in the Democratic Primary.
Election Day is Thursday, August 1 and voting at all 12 precincts that day will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage starting at 7 p.m.
Voters will decide races in the DeKalb County General Election, Tennessee Republican and Democratic Primaries, and the Municipal Elections in Smithville, Dowelltown, and Alexandria.
All the local Republican nominees from the March primary are unopposed in the DeKalb County General Election including Incumbent Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, Sixth district incumbent school board member Jason Miller, Fifth district school board candidate Megan Moore; Constable candidates 1st District: Tyler Cripps, 2nd District: Danny Adamson, 3rd District: Incumbent Travis Bryant, 4th District: Incumbent Lane Ball, 5th District: Incumbent Mark Milam, and 7th District: Jeremy Neal, and Judge Shawn C. Fry for the newly created Criminal Court Judge position in Part III of the seven-county 13th Judicial District.
For the county commission to fill unexpired terms, Andy Pack in the 6th district and Mathias Anderson in district 7 were recently nominated and certified as Republican candidates through the local GOP caucus process and their names appear on the August 1 ballot.
The Smithville Municipal Election is uncontested on August 1. The three incumbent aldermen up for re-election, Shawn Jacobs, Danny Washer, and Jessica Higgins are running unopposed.
Only three people qualified for the Alexandria Municipal Election ballot on August 1. In this election, the positions to be filled are for mayor (unexpired term), three aldermen, and three other aldermen (unexpired terms). Beth Tripp is running for the unexpired mayor’s term while Jeff Ford is seeking to fill an unexpired alderman term and Jonathon Tripp is running for a full alderman term. No one qualified on the ballot to run for the other positions.
No one qualified to run in the Dowelltown Municipal Election on August 1 in which a mayor and two aldermen are to be elected.
The following have filed a certificate of write-in for the following offices, but their names do not appear on the August 1 ballot:
Constable- District 6:
Keith Elkins
City of Alexandria:
Mayor
Allen Lawson
Russell “Rusty” Bradshaw
Alderman
Bobbie Ford
Robert “Bobby” Simpson
Lucas “Luke” Prichard
Curtis Rutter
The August 1 ballot also features two State Judicial Retention questions as follows:
Shall Dwight Tarwater be retained in office as a Judge of the Supreme Court At Large or be replaced?
Shall Matthew J. Wilson be retained in office as a Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Division or be replaced?
In the Tennessee Republican Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:
United States House of Representatives District 6: John Rose
United States Senate: Marsha Blackburn and Tres Wittum
Tennessee Senate District 16: Janice Bowling
Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Michael Hale
In the Tennessee Democratic Primary on August 1 the candidates are as follows:
United States House of Representatives District 6: Lore Bergman, Clay Faircloth, and Cyril Focht
United States Senate: Marquita Bradshaw, Lola Denise Brown, Gloria Johnson, and Civil Miller-Watkins
Tennessee Senate District 16: Wayne Steele
Tennessee House of Representatives District 40: Daniel T. Hawthorne
State Executive Committeewoman District 16: Rupa Blackwell.