{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nChristopher 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 [3][4]. 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].\n\n## Background and education\nFinley was born March 27, 1956, in Sparta, Tennessee, which is also his home city. He identifies his religion as Christian/Methodist [1].\n\n## Career\nFrom 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].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Christopher Finley \u2013 VoteSmart](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/180455/christopher-finley) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [2] [Vote-USA \u2013 Christopher Martin Finley \u2013 Tennessee 6th District](https://vote-usa.org/Intro.aspx?State=TN&Id=TNFinleyChristopherMartin) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [3] [Tennessee's redrawn congressional districts: A full guide to every candidate running in 2026 \u2013 NewsChannel 5](https://www.newschannel5.com/news/tennessees-redrawn-congressional-districts-a-full-guide-to-every-candidate-running-in-2026) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [4] [Tennessee 2026 Elections: Candidates for Governor, Senate & House \u2013 Politics1](https://politics1.com/tn.htm) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [5] [2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Tennessee) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n- [6] [2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Tennessee) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_6","county":"Bledsoe","county_count":28,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"US House District 6"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Christopher Martin","fullname":"Christopher Martin Finley","lastname":"Finley","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_6","contest_title":"US House District 6","county":"Bledsoe","county_count":28,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house_6","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"us_house_6","contest_title":"US House District 6","county":"Bledsoe","county_count":28,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house_6","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"us_house_6","office_title":"US House District 6","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"CHtXyqL6K2"}