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Christopher Martin Finley
Office history
Current office and 2026 campaign
Christopher Martin Finley is running as a Democrat for Tennessee's 6th Congressional District in the 2026 primary election (August 6), one of five Democrats who have qualified for the seat vacated by Republican incumbent John Rose's run for governor 34. He previously ran for the same seat in 2018 and 2020. In the 2018 Democratic primary he placed third with 15.1% of the vote (4,662 votes), behind winner Dawn Barlow (54.5%) and Merrilee Wineinger (22.0%) 5. In 2020 he won the Democratic primary unopposed (21,375 votes) and advanced to the November general election, where he received 24.0% of the vote (83,852 votes) against Republican incumbent John Rose 6.
Background and education
Finley was born March 27, 1956, in Sparta, Tennessee, which is also his home city. He identifies his religion as Christian/Methodist 1.
Career
From 1993 to 2020, Finley worked as a restaurant server at a series of Nashville-area establishments, including J Alexander's Restaurant (1993-1996), Ruth's Chris Steak House (1996-2001), Fleming's Steak House (2001-2005), Sperry's Restaurant (2005-2011), Urban Grub (2016-2018), Jimmy Kelly's (2018-2020), and Belle Meade Country Club (2015-2020) 1. Politics1.com lists his occupation simply as "Restaurant Worker" 4.
Sources
Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
Tennessee — campaign finance (search)
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State offices (Governor, TN Senate, TN House, State Executive Committee, statewide judiciary) —
Tennessee Registry of Election Finance.
Click Search for Candidates and PACs, enter last name “Finley”, and submit.
US House, US Senate, and Presidential candidates file with the FEC — see the federal section below. - County and municipal offices (County Mayor, Commissioner, Sheriff, School Board, court clerks, municipal alderman, etc.) — most major TN counties use the EasyVote portal. Select the relevant county and search by candidate name (“Finley”).
Tennessee — statement of interest
- Required for state and local officials and candidates — Tennessee Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Search. Enter last name “Finley”and, if needed, select the applicable position.
Federal offices — campaign finance
- US House, US Senate, and Presidential candidates file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), not with state systems — FEC candidate search. Filter by office, state, and cycle to narrow the results. Financial disclosures (personal assets and income) for members of Congress and congressional candidates are filed with the US House Clerk or US Senate Office of Public Records, depending on the office.