{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobbie Palmer is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 7, listed as Robert Palmer of Rogersville among the district's two current commissioners alongside Bobby Jinks [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee for one of the district's two seats on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, running alongside fellow incumbent Republican Bobby Lee Jinks [2]. He filed for re-election in early 2026 [3].\n\n## Family\nRobbie Palmer is the son of former Hawkins County Commissioner Bob (Robert) Palmer, who previously served as chairman of the county's E-911 board [4].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nPalmer wrote the crypto-mine and data-center ban resolution that came before the Hawkins County Board of Commissioners in September 2025 in response to constituent opposition to ExoticRidge's planned Bitcoin-mining operation in Bulls Gap; he worked on the language with County Mayor Mark DeWitte, fellow District 7 Commissioner Bobby Jinks, and county attorney Allen Coup [5][6]. Palmer said \"[t]he citizens made their voices loud and clear\" against the project and framed the county's response as focused on \"the health, safety and convenience of the citizens\" [5]. He had earlier said he preferred common-sense regulation to a blanket ban, but chose the ban after the county unearthed authority under the state's County Powers Act [5][6]. After ExoticRidge sued to overturn the ordinance, Palmer helped bring in the Southern Environmental Law Center to assist Hawkins County in the litigation [7].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commission](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/county_commission.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Official Ballot, Hawkins County, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [E-911 Board: Lifeguard running calls in Bulls Gap](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_0f35d680-8229-11e4-a1d2-b76e606bfb62.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Hawkins Commission bans crypto farms, datacenters](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/business/article_9d9aedd5-3cda-483f-9e93-b5a947051ab5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[6] [Hawkins commission unearthed County Powers Act to ban crypto mines](https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/hawkins-commission-unearthed-county-powers-act-to-ban-crypto-mines/article_95549d15-e563-4b15-8537-ecd533ebfdad.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[7] [Law center offers free services to Hawkins County for data center lawsuit](https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/law-center-offers-free-services-to-hawkins-county-for-data-center-lawsuit/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 7"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"ROBBIE","fullname":"ROBBIE PALMER","lastname":"PALMER","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commissioner District 7","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner from Rogersville who wrote the county's 2025 crypto-mine and data-center ban, seeking re-election as a Republican.","terms":[],"token":"FEjfjIKKPr"}