{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Jason Grindstaff","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"Jason Edward Grindstaff is a Republican candidate for the Avery County Board of Commissioners in the 2026 North Carolina election. He appears on the official 2026 primary candidate list for Avery County Commissioner, confirming his intent to run again after his 2024 campaign [9][10].\n\nGrindstaff\u2019s prior electoral experience includes filing for the 2024 Avery County Board of Commissioners race, where he was listed among seven Republican candidates seeking the three available seats on the board [10]. In the March 5, 2024 Republican primary, Grindstaff placed fourth, receiving 1,396 votes, which was insufficient to advance to the November general election ballot, as only the top three primary vote\u2011getters move forward [11].\n\nNo biographical details such as education, professional background, or prior public service are provided in the available sources. Ballotpedia\u2019s profile for Grindstaff notes the lack of additional personal information and indicates that he did not complete the Candidate Connection survey, leaving his policy positions and endorsements undocumented [1].\n\nGrindstaff\u2019s campaign for 2026 therefore builds on his earlier attempt to join the county commission, but specific platform points, endorsements, or campaign activities have not been reported in the sources consulted. Voters seeking more information may need to consult local news outlets or the candidate\u2019s own communications, which are not linked in the current records.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Jason Grindstaff (Avery County Board of Commissioners, North Carolina, candidate 2024) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jason_Grindstaff_(Avery_County_Board_of_Commissioners,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2024))\n- [9] [2026 primary election candidate list final as filing ends | Government | averyjournal.com](https://www.averyjournal.com/news/government/2026-primary-election-candidate-list-final-as-filing-ends/article_0b21a2f9-b383-4297-a5c8-ecae1110b203.html)\n- [10] [Sixteen Candidates File for Avery County Offices in 2024 Election - High Country Press](https://www.hcpress.com/announcements/sixteen-candidates-file-for-avery-county-offices-in-2024-election.html)\n- [11] [2024 Avery Primary Election Results\u2026 Burnop, Webb, and Wright Claim School Board Seats; Incumbents Aldridge and Phillips Join Benfield in Winning County Commission Republican Primary - High Country Press](https://www.hcpress.com/avery/2024-avery-primary-election-results-burnop-webb-and-wright-claim-school-board-seats-incumbents-aldridge-and-phillips-join-benfield-in-winning-county-commission-republican-primary.html)\n- [12] [Jason Grindstaff (21 public records) - Address, Email, Phone Number | UnMask](https://unmask.com/Jason-Grindstaff/)","firstname":"Jason","lastname":"Grindstaff","middlename":"Edward","suffix":null,"token":"2c37f8ca5d59e64d"},"token":"vyxk36bIvGnY2RIz"},{"candidatename":"Dennis Aldridge","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Dennis Randolph Aldridge is a registered voter in Avery County, North Carolina, registered since 1998 (28 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Dennis Randolph Aldridge's year of birth as 1955; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 17 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Dennis Randolph Aldridge can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Dennis","lastname":"Aldridge","middlename":"Randolph","suffix":null,"token":"d3b79b65ea8c8555"},"token":"NS_Y_A0gZJXcYBSe"},{"candidatename":"Robert Burleson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobert Allen Burleson is a Republican candidate for the Avery County Board of Commissioners in the 2026 election [1].\n\n## Office history\nBurleson has served on the Avery County Board of Commissioners since 2022, according to the county's official commissioner profile page [1]. He appeared on the November 8, 2022 general-election ballot for the board as a Republican [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Robert Burleson \u2013 Avery County, NC](https://averycountync.gov/residents/our_government/robert_burleson.php) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [Robert Burleson (Avery County Board of Commissioners, North Carolina, candidate 2022) \u2013 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_Burleson_(Avery_County_Board_of_Commissioners,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022)) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"Robert","lastname":"Burleson","middlename":"Allen","suffix":null,"token":"29bbffc5d54d19a3"},"token":"eNcZnRTpFsu8phBi"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission","office":"county_commission","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":3,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Avery County Board Of Commissioners"}