{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"J. Tim Barrett","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nTim Barrett is the incumbent Clerk of Superior Court for Clay County, North Carolina, first elected to the position in 2010 [1][2]. He is the Republican candidate on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot for Clay County Clerk of Superior Court, the office responsible for the county's probate court, judicial administration, records, and finances.\n\n## Background and education\n\nBarrett grew up in Hayesville, North Carolina, the son of Emogene Barrett, and graduated from Hayesville High School in 1986. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Western Carolina University in 1990 [3].\n\n## Career\n\nBarrett spent 15 years with North Carolina Community Corrections as a probation/parole officer \u2014 ten years in Winston-Salem and five years in Clay and Cherokee counties \u2014 before working four years as a Farm Bureau Insurance agent. He was elected Clerk of Superior Court for Clay County in 2010 [1][3].\n\n## Office history\n\nBarrett previously ran for reelection as Clay County Clerk of Superior Court in the November 8, 2022 general election [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Clay County Leadership](https://www.clayconc.com/clay-county-leadership) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [List of Elected Officials \u2014 Clay County Board of Elections](https://elections.claync.us/list-of-elected-officials) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] [Elect Tim Barrett for Clay County Clerk of Superior Court](http://myplace.frontier.com/~thebarretts9/electbarrett/) (candidate's own campaign site; biographical details are self-described, from his original 2010 campaign)\n[4] [J. Tim Barrett (Clay County Clerk of Superior Court, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/J._Tim_Barrett_(Clay_County_Clerk_of_Superior_Court,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022)) (cited only because no primary source documents the 2022 race specifically)","firstname":"Jon","lastname":"Barrett","middlename":"Timothy","suffix":null,"token":"4869719f87b42102"},"token":"oetZwNzx0ws07jT8"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"clerk_of_superior_court","office":"clerk_of_superior_court","officedescription":"In North Carolina, the clerk of superior court keeps the records of the trial courts and also serves as an ex-officio judge of probate and over estates, guardianships, and certain special proceedings. It is both a records office and a judicial one.","officequalities":"- Records management for the trial courts, in conformity with North Carolina procedure and the orders of the judges.\n- Judicial responsibility over probate, estates, guardianships, and special proceedings \u2014 the clerk decides these matters.\n- Financial controls for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines, estate funds, and trust funds, with public accountability.\n- Supervision of a clerical staff handling high case volume and frequent statutory deadlines.\n- Attention to legal detail and sensitivity with a public often dealing with death or incapacity.\n- Administrative reliability \u2014 the office's filings are legally binding and its records are evidence.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Clerk of Superior Court","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Clay County Clerk Of Superior Court"}