July 11, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
The Tennessee Democratic and Republican parties will have primaries on Thursday, August 4th to select nominees for Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, Tennessee House of Representatives and State Executive Committeemen and Committeewomen.
Early Voting begins Friday, July 15 and runs through Saturday, July 30. Unlike the DeKalb County General Election and Municipal Elections, voters must declare in which state primary (Democratic or Republican) they intend to vote either during early voting or on election day.
The most hotly contested state primary race in DeKalb County is the 40th District State Representative Republican Primary battle between 14-year incumbent Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster and Smithville businessman Michael Hale. The winner will face Democrat Tom Cook of Silver Point in the November 8th Tennessee General Election. Cook is unopposed in the state Democratic Primary on August 4.
The 40th District includes all of DeKalb, Smith, Jackson, and Cannon Counties and a small portion of Wilson County.
The candidates on the State Primary Ballots August 4th are as follows:
Governor:
GOP Primary: Incumbent Bill Lee
Democrat Primary: Carnita Faye Atwater of Memphis , Jason Brantley Martin of Nashville, and JB Smiley Jr. of Memphis
U.S. House of Representatives (6th District)
GOP Primary: Incumbent John Rose of Cookeville
Democrat Primary: Randal Cooper of Nashville and Clay Faircloth of Nashville
Tennessee House of Representatives (40th District)
GOP Primary: Incumbent Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster and Michael Hale of Smithville.
Democrat Primary: Tom Cook of Silver Point
GOP State Executive Committeeman (16th District): Jerry S. Anderson of Winchester
GOP State Executive Committeewoman (16th District): Amy L. Dennis of Winchester
Democratic State Executive Committeeman (16th District): Bobby Eddress Bush Jr. of Morrison
Democratic State Executive Committeewoman (16th District): Sheila Younglove of McMinnville
Meanwhile the August 4 ballot will also feature 26 State Judicial Retention questions in which voters may vote to either “retain” or “replace” judges
Early voting times are as follows at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville: Mondays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. until Noon. Early voting will also be held again in the western part of the county on a limited basis. The DeKalb County Fairgrounds will be the site of early voting on July 19th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on July 25 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Each early voting site is for any properly registered DeKalb County voter.