{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Lisa Stevenson Barker","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Lisa Stevenson Barker is a registered voter in Swain County, North Carolina, registered since 1987 (39 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Lisa Stevenson Barker's year of birth as 1966; 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 11 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 Lisa Stevenson Barker 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":"Lisa","lastname":"Barker","middlename":"Stevenson","suffix":null,"token":"1d7496cc49e4e83a"},"token":"hcG363AUWIgQ8SSz"},{"candidatename":"Cynthia Womble","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"UNA","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Cynthia Mason Womble is a registered voter in Swain County, North Carolina, registered since 2017 (9 years), with party affiliation listed as Unaffiliated [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Cynthia Mason Womble's year of birth as 1967; 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 8 elections voted in since 2018, 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 Cynthia Mason Womble 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":"Cynthia","lastname":"Womble","middlename":"Mason","suffix":null,"token":"a5727dbb342980d7"},"token":"IZW9iheOksoWc1p_"},{"candidatename":"Jason (Jay) Kirkland","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJason \"Jay\" Kirkland is the sitting chairman of the Swain County Board of Commissioners. He is running as a Republican for a regular seat on the Board of Commissioners in the 2026 election, appearing on the March 3, 2026 primary ballot for one of the county's commissioner seats [1]. Per the Smoky Mountain News, by the November general election Kirkland \"will have served one year in the position\" of chairman, but \"he's seeking another term on the board, but not as its chairman\" \u2014 he is not a candidate for chairman in this cycle [1].\n\n## Background and career\nKirkland works in the logging industry. Commissioner David Loftis, nominating him for chairman, described him as a man who \"logs for a living, raised in Bryson City all of his life, worked hard\" [2].\n\n## Office history\nSwain County commissioners unanimously appointed Kirkland chairman of the Board of Commissioners on October 28, 2025, succeeding Kevin Seagle, who had resigned the chairmanship that August [2][3]. Commissioner Bobby Jenkins nominated Kirkland and Commissioner David Loftis seconded the motion [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] [Kirkland unanimously appointed as Swain County chairman \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/news-latest/kirkland-unanimously-appointed-as-swain-county-chairman/)\n[3] [Swain commission chair gives county his resignation \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/archived/archived-news/swain-commission-chair-gives-county-his-resignation/)","firstname":"Jason","lastname":"Kirkland","middlename":"Ray","suffix":null,"token":"143fd2e86d49acf4"},"token":"3oRHCdUsVzkFQ9CL"},{"candidatename":"Chris Reed","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nChristopher Reed is a Democratic Party candidate seeking election to the Maryland House of Delegates for District 17 [1]. He is listed as a candidate in the upcoming general election scheduled for June 23 [1]. Information regarding his specific current office or prior campaign developments for this race is not available in the provided sources.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Christopher Reed (Maryland) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Christopher_Reed_(Maryland))","firstname":"Christopher","lastname":"Reed","middlename":"Justin","suffix":null,"token":"475811070525b5f8"},"token":"kubHKQGtRvyoWiED"},{"candidatename":"Erika Smith","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Erika Tiller Smith is a registered voter in Swain County, North Carolina, registered since 2009 (17 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Erika Tiller Smith's year of birth as 1986; 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 15 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 Erika Tiller Smith 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":"Erika","lastname":"Smith","middlename":"Tiller","suffix":null,"token":"e3c296a5330c4100"},"token":"4H51jPhC-Yz9aYJy"}],"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":2,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Swain County Board Of Commissioners Members"}