Republican Tim Kennedy has been elected to serve as the Overton County Highway Superintendent. Three people sought the seat in the Aug. 1, election. All results are unofficial until certified by the Overton County Election Commission.
Kennedy secured 1,457 votes (46.27%) of the 3,149 ballots cast in the Highway Superintendent category. Independent candidates David McDonald saw 965 votes (30.64%) and James Darwin Clark saw 726 votes (23.05%).
There were a couple of contested races for Overton County School Board seats. In District 2, Melissa Savage secured 426 votes (52.79%) of the 807 ballots cast. Wayne Taylor saw 381 votes (47.21%). Both candidates were Independent.
Independent Ben Danner secured the majority of votes cast for School Board District 5 with 383 (58.21%). Republican Jennifer Ledbetter saw 275 votes (41.79%) of the 658 ballots cast in District 5.
The remaining local, county races were uncontested. They included:
Assessor of Property - Independent Cara Boone - 2,536 votes (99.61%);
School Board District 1 - Independent Mike Hayes - 363 votes (97.84%);
School Board District 3 - Independent William J. Abston - 392 votes (99.49%);
School Board District 4 - Republican Mitchell D. Stonecipher - 381 votes (98.96%);
State Committeeman District 12 - Democrat Robert M. Young - 393 votes (99.75%);
State Committeewoman District 12 - Republican Ann Ayers-Colvin - 1,487 votes (99.33%);
State Committeewoman District 12 - Democrat Carol V. Abney - 401 votes (99.26%); and
Criminal Court Judge Pt. III, District 13 - Republican Shawn C. Fry - 2,064 votes (99.23%).
In state primary races, the top vote-getters on the Republican and Democratic tickets will move onto the November election.
Current State Rep. Ed Butler (R-41) saw no opposition on the Republican ticket, securing 1,916 votes (99.12%). He will face Democrat Joel Derek Hawn, who earned 408 votes (99.51%) for Thursday’s election.
State Sen. Ken Yager (R-12) held his spot on the Republican ticket after earning 1,542 votes (77.29%) against challenger Teena Hedrick. She garnered 450 votes (22.56%) in Overton County.
Yager will face Democratic opponent, Curtis Kelly in November. Kelly garnered 396 votes (99.25%) in the Democratic primary in the county.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Rose (TN-6) faced no Republican challengers Thursday. There were three Democratic candidates for the Congressional seat. Lore Bergman was the top vote-getter at 224 votes (52.71%). Clay Faircloth saw 132 votes (31.06%) and Cyril Focht had 65 votes (15.29%).
Rose and Bergman will be on the November ballot.
Current U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) faced a challenger on the Republican ticket. She garnered 1,958 votes (92.18%) against Tres Wittum, who saw 159 votes (7.49%). There were four candidates on the Democratic ticket vying for the U.S. Senate seat. State Rep. Gloria Johnson was the top vote-getter with 375 ballots (74.11%) cast in her favor. Marquita Bradshaw saw 72 votes (14.23%) from Overton County residents. Lola Denise Brown had 44 votes (8.7%) and Civil Miller-Watkins had 14 votes (2.77%).
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater of Knoxville was retained for the Eastern section. He drew favor in Overton County with 1,392 votes (67.94%) to retain him. There were 657 votes (32.06%) cast to replace him in Overton County.
Western district court of criminal appeals judge Matt Wilson of Jackson will retain his seat. In Overton County, 1,413 ballots (68.96%) were cast in his favor. There were 636 votes (31.07%) to replace him from Overton County.
There were 1,618 Overton Countians who turned out to vote during Thursday’s election. There were 1,490 ballots cast during the early-vote period. There were 90 absentee votes cast in Overton County. There are 15,906 registered voters in Overton County. Overall voter turnout for the Aug. 1, 2024, election in the county was 20.11%.
The next election in Tennessee includes the state representative and senate seats, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seats, and the Presidential election. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting will run from Wednesday, Oct. 16 through Thursday, Oct. 31.
The last day to register to be able to vote in the November election is Monday, Oct. 7.
Those who will not be in their registered voting districts during the November election period, including college students and those serving the country, can apply for an absentee ballot from their local county election office. The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the November election is Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Tennessee voters do not declare a political party affiliation when registering to vote.
Contact the Overton County Election Commission office at 931-823-5985 or visit 312 W. Broad St., Room 2, Livingston, for more information. Online information can be found at https://overtonvotes.com/.
Sabrina Bates, sabrina@richardsonmediagroup.net
