{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Robert (Robbie) Brown","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobert Thorpe Brown, known as Robbie Brown, is the Republican candidate for Swain County Commission Chairman in the November 2026 general election. He won the 2026 Republican primary with 510 votes and will face Democrat Jeramy Shuler in the fall.\n\nBrown's stated campaign priorities include adequately funding the public school system, collaborating with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and neighboring county boards of commissioners, and improving Swain County's infrastructure and county services.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Brown, Shuler to advance, compete for chair of Swain commissioners \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/40977-brown-shuler-to-advance-compete-for-chair-of-swain-commissioners)\n","firstname":"Robert","lastname":"Brown","middlename":"Thorpe","suffix":null,"token":"3e84951f20137992"},"token":"cUrdH_xNKTO7715e"},{"candidatename":"Jeramy Shuler","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"**Update: Shuler won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary for Swain County Board of Commissioners Chairman, defeating Edward Larry Simonds 643 votes to 305, and advances to face Robert \"Robbie\" Brown (R) and Fred Crawford (unaffiliated) on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Thomas Jeramy Shuler is a registered voter in Swain County, North Carolina, registered since 2000 (26 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Thomas Jeramy Shuler's year of birth as 1972; 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 12 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 Thomas Jeramy Shuler 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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, official 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`) and March 3, 2026 primary precinct-level results (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Thomas","lastname":"Shuler","middlename":"Jeramy","suffix":null,"token":"5c8ac7bef42c6c4d"},"token":"YU28r_pk2iSx70cE"},{"candidatename":"Courtney (Wilde) Dills","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCourtney Dills ran as a Republican candidate for Swain County Board of Commissioners Chairman in the March 3, 2026 primary, one of four candidates on the Republican primary ballot alongside Robbie Brown, Bobby Jenkins, and Eugene Shuler [1].\n\n## Career\nAhead of the primary, Dills said she opposed what she called the \"good old boy system\" in county government. She called for cleaning up county departments, better use of county-owned land, and youth intervention programs funded through the state's opioid settlement money, criticized the culture at the county Department of Social Services, and said she wanted to reduce government reliance on outside interests; she was also skeptical of expanding excursion-train service through the county [1].\n\nDills has also raised public-records concerns as a private citizen at county commission meetings. In a June 2026 story on the county's responsiveness to records requests, the Smoky Mountain News reported that \"resident Courtney Dills alleged an exchange occurred\" during a May 5, 2026 commission meeting \"which was edited out\" of the board's official YouTube recording [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Candidates for Swain County Chairman share ideas, platforms \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/news-latest/candidates-for-swain-county-chairman-share-ideas-platforms/)\n[2] [Swain County unresponsive to SMN public records requests \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/news-latest/swain-county-unresponsive-to-smn-public-records-requests/)","firstname":"Courtney","lastname":"Dills","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"4f53bfde958f26e9"},"token":"Sgi6z8d8g1iH0CT9"},{"candidatename":"Edward Larry Simonds","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nEdward Larry Simonds ran as a Democratic candidate for Swain County Board of Commissioners Chairman in the March 3, 2026 primary. He lost to Jeramy Shuler, 643 votes to 305. Simonds will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot [1].\n\n## Background\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Edward Larry Simonds is a registered voter, registered since 2002 (24 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [2]. The voter file shows a year of birth of 1984; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [2]. The voter history file shows 3 elections voted in since 2020, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 primary results by precinct (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n[2] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n","firstname":"Edward","lastname":"Simonds","middlename":"Larry","suffix":null,"token":"93c5023120d9e635"},"token":"287gQ2kYJUuiocK1"},{"candidatename":"Eugene Shuler","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nTalmadge Eugene Shuler JR is a candidate for Jackson County Board Of Commissioners Chairman in Swain County, North Carolina in the 2026 election cycle. The North Carolina primary is scheduled for March 3, 2026, with the general election on November 3, 2026.\n\nNo additional biographical information is currently available for this candidate. Voters seeking more information are encouraged to contact local news sources, the county Board of Elections, or the candidate's campaign directly.\n","firstname":"Talmadge","lastname":"Shuler","middlename":"Eugene","suffix":"JR","token":"6b67b6e7837063a3"},"token":"sJnho_uXDbvDMq26"},{"candidatename":"Bobby Jenkins","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nBobby Joe Jenkins (Republican) is a Swain County, NC Commissioner who sought the board's chairman position in the 2026 Republican primary.\n\n## Career\n\nJenkins worked for Swain County government for 14 years in the county buildings department, then transitioned to elected service as a commissioner. He has emphasized his record of cost savings on county projects and his commitment to moving the county forward.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Candidates for Swain County Chairman Share Ideas \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/40783-candidates-for-swain-county-chairman-share-ideas-platforms)","firstname":"Bobby","lastname":"Jenkins","middlename":"Joe","suffix":null,"token":"85a302fb85fa54b8"},"token":"pGBImLYNwqVtjToM"}],"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":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Swain County Board Of Commissioners Chairman"}