{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nKatie Darby is the Republican incumbent for the Rutherford County Schools board in Zone 4, running for re-election on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot [1][2]. She won her 2026 Republican primary on May 5, 2026 with 1,693 votes (55.34%), defeating challenger Clarissa Smith, who received 1,314 votes (42.96%); she was the only incumbent board member on the ballot to retain her seat in that primary [2]. She advances to face Democrat Brian Hall and independent Dayna Nichols in the general election [2]. After the primary she said: \"I am grateful. Grateful to the voters of Rutherford County for continuing to place their trust in me.\" [2] On her campaign materials she describes herself as \"a concerned parent striving to create better communication among parents, teachers, & educators\" [1].\n\n## Office history\n\nDarby assumed office representing Zone 4 on September 1, 2022 [1]. She won the seat in the August 4, 2022 general election after defeating incumbent Tiffany Johnson in the May 3, 2022 Republican primary [1]. She was later nominated by fellow board member Caleb Tidwell in a vote for board chair, from which she abstained [1].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Katie Darby (Ballotpedia)](https://ballotpedia.org/Katie_Darby) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [2 of 3 incumbents lose in Rutherford County School Board primaries (AOL/Daily News Journal)](https://www.aol.com/articles/2-3-incumbents-lose-rutherford-100212510.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board_zone_4","county":"Rutherford","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"School Board Zone 4"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"KATIE","fullname":"KATIE DARBY","lastname":"DARBY","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board_zone_4","contest_title":"School Board Zone 4","county":"Rutherford","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_school_board_zone_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board_zone_4","contest_title":"School Board Zone 4","county":"Rutherford","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_school_board_zone_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_school_board_zone_4","office_title":"School Board Zone 4","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Republican incumbent representing Zone 4 since 2022; won her 2026 GOP primary and describes herself as a concerned parent focused on parent-teacher communication.","terms":[],"token":"CR3MEDfbCr"}