{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nKenny Cody is a Republican candidate running for election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 11 [1]. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 [1]. Cody has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey for this race [1].\n\nCody serves as the Opinion Editor for Human Events and has written for various conservative outlets including The Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, Townhall, Newsmax, and Newsweek [3]. He is also a columnist for The Libertarian Republic [6]. Cody previously served as the Chairman of the Cocke County (TN) Republican Party, where he was elected unanimously alongside other leadership roles in 2025 [5]. During his tenure, he organized events such as a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk in September 2025 [4].\n\n## Background and education\n\nKenny Cody is a native of East Tennessee who was born and raised in the small town of Cosby [2]. He has called House District 11 his home for the past 30 years [2]. Cody self-describes as having been raised with Christian, conservative, mountain values [2]. He is a member of Bethel Baptist Church of Parrottsville, Tennessee [2].\n\nCody graduated from Cosby High School [1]. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2018 [1]. He subsequently received a master's degree from Tusculum University in 2020 and an educational specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University in 2022 [1].\n\n## Career\n\nKenny Cody is an educator and writer from Northeastern Tennessee [6]. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2018, a master's degree from Tusculum University in 2020, and an educational specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University in 2022 [1].\n\nProfessionally, Cody serves as the Opinion Editor for Human Events and has written for various conservative outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Wire, Townhall, Newsmax, and Newsweek [3]. He also served as a columnist for The Libertarian Republic starting in January 2020 [6]. Additionally, he is the former Chairman of the Cocke County (TN) Republican Party, a position to which he was unanimously elected by party members [5].\n\n## Office history\n\nKenny Cody served as Chairman of the Cocke County Republican Party for six years [3]. He was unanimously elected to this position by party members at a meeting where he also led the organization's largest turnout in its history for an event honoring Charlie Kirk [4][5].\n\nCody is running for election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 11 as a Republican candidate [1]. He is on the ballot for the Republican primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 [1].\n\n## Family\n\nKenny Cody self-describes as a native East Tennessean born and raised in Cosby [2]. He is engaged to marry Katilyn Webb of Parrottsville, Tennessee [2]. The couple are members of Bethel Baptist Church in Parrottsville [2]. Cody states that his family has resided in House District 11 for the past 30 years [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Kenny Cody](https://ballotpedia.org/Kenny_Cody)\n[2] [Kenny Cody](https://votekennycody.com/)\n[3] [Kenny Cody | Human Events | humanevents.com](https://humanevents.com/author/kenny-cody)\n[4] [KENNY CODY: Tennessee\u2019s Cocke County shows up for Charlie Kirk | Human Events | humanevents.com](https://humanevents.com/2025/10/04/kenny-cody-tennessees-cocke-county-shows-up-for-charlie-kirk)\n[5] [Cocke County GOP elects new leadership | News | newportplaintalk.com](https://www.newportplaintalk.com/news/article_30043b5d-2742-551f-914a-d8b4f646925d.html)\n[6] [Kenny Cody](https://www.dailywire.com/author/kenny-cody)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_011","county":"Cocke","county_count":3,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"TN State House District 11"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Kenny","fullname":"Kenny Cody","lastname":"Cody","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_house_011","contest_title":"TN State House District 11","county":"Cocke","county_count":3,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_011","office_title":"State Representative District 11","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"R","primary":{"contest":"state_house_011","contest_title":"TN State House District 11","county":"Cocke","county_count":3,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_011","office_title":"State Representative District 11","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_house_011","office_title":"State Representative District 11","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Kenny Cody is a Republican candidate for Tennessee House District 11, former Cocke County GOP Chairman, and conservative writer.","terms":[],"token":"8NWhGXjS8A"}