{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRyan Dalton is the Democratic nominee for Putnam County Mayor in the August 6, 2026 general election, opposing Republican incumbent Randy Porter, who is seeking a fourth term [1][3]. Dalton says he is running because he does not believe local leadership should be driven by partisan warfare, and he has centered his campaign on housing affordability and support for working families [2]. He has said he is running his campaign \"at cost,\" pricing campaign items at cost and pledging to donate leftover funds to the Putnam County library system [2].\n\n## Background\nDalton says he grew up in Putnam County and returned to raise his two daughters [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [2026 Candidates -- Putnam County Democrats](https://putnamdemocrats.org/2026/) -- accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Ryan Dalton for Putnam County TN Mayor (Facebook)](https://www.facebook.com/ryandaltonformayor/) -- accessed 2026-07-22\n[3] [Porter Wins Over Nabors In Putnam County Mayoral Race -- theucnow.com](https://theucnow.com/2026/05/05/porter-wins-over-naybors-in-putnam-county-mayoral-race/) -- accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Putnam","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"RYAN","fullname":"RYAN DALTON","lastname":"DALTON","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Putnam","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Putnam","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Democratic nominee for Putnam County Mayor; Cookeville-area native and father of two campaigning on housing affordability and working families.","terms":[],"token":"CfFHeUEuba"}