{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJoe Towns Jr. has represented Tennessee House District 84 (Memphis, southern Shelby County) since 1995 [1]. In the 2026 cycle he is separately seeking Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk: he won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary for that office, narrowly defeating incumbent Clerk Wanda Halbert by 121 votes - 19,329 to 19,208, each roughly 27.5% of a five-candidate field [2][3]. Towns advances to the August 6, 2026 general election for Criminal Court Clerk against Republican Edquardo Jamison [3]. Separately, Shelby County Election Commission petition-filing records show Towns also qualified as a Democratic primary candidate for his existing House District 84 seat, for the August 6, 2026 state primary [4]. The two candidacies are distinct races (a county general election and a state legislative primary) that happen to fall on the same date.\n\n## Background and education\nTowns was born May 4 in Memphis. He holds a B.A. in political science from LeMoyne-Owen College and an M.S. in operational management from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is a member of Mississippi Boulevard Church [1].\n\n## Career\nTowns describes himself in his official legislative biography as a \"Business/Entrepreneur and Former College Instructor\" who operates a management, consulting, and entertainment company [1].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nFirst elected to the House in 1994, Towns has sponsored legislation aimed at reviving the Tennessee Horse Racing Commission and bringing horse racing back to Memphis, framed as a way to \"keep gambling dollars from slipping out of Shelby County\" [5].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Representative Joe Towns, Jr.](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/archives/107GA/members/h84.html) - Tennessee General Assembly official biography, accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Towns edges out Halbert by 121 votes in primary](https://wreg.com/news/your-local-election-headquarters/towns-edges-out-halbert-by-121-votes-in-primary/) - WREG\n[3] [Joe Towns Jr. edges out Wanda Halbert for Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk](https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/joe-towns-jr-edges-out-wanda-halbert-for-shelby-county-criminal-court-clerk/article_974e4e05-1837-4ff0-8077-39d4c22ad24b.html) - Fox13 Memphis\n[4] Petitions Issued and Filed as of COB March 9, 2026 - Shelby County Election Commission, https://electionsshelbytn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Petitioins-Issued-and-Filed-as-of-COB-March-9-2026.pdf\n[5] [Towns trying to revive state horse racing commission](https://dailymemphian.com/article/3017/Towns-trying-to-revive-state-horse-racing-commission) - Daily Memphian","campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"tn","title":"Criminal Court Clerk"},{"contest":"tennessee_house_district_84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"Tennessee House District 84"},{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"Criminal Court Clerk"},{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"State Representative District 84"},{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"tn","title":"State Representative District 84"}],"cf_filings":[{"county":"shelby","displayname":"Towns, Joe","documents":[{"datesubmitted":"04/10/26","documentid":"B852B935-5D45-4DD4-95A6-2D7F9A2DB44D","documentname":"Towns, Joe - Appointment of Treasurer 2026","documentnameid":["B852B935-5D45-4DD4-95A6-2D7F9A2DB44D","Towns, Joe - Appointment of Treasurer 2026"],"documenttype":"Appointment of Treasurer","electionname":null}],"filertype":"Candidate","officename":"Criminal Court Clerk","source_customer_id":"EE6EBC62-7B7C-432F-869E-4DE111271E07","source_filer_id":"99C67DF3-06D1-43DF-B322-BAE1C5017CD0","source_system":"easyvote","state":"TN","status":"Active"}],"firstname":"Joe","fullname":"Joe Towns Jr.","lastname":"Towns","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"tn"},{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"shelby","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"tn"},"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"criminal_court_clerk","contest_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"criminal_court_clerk","office_title":"Criminal Court Clerk","state":"TN","terms":[]},{"campaigns":[{"contest":"tennessee_house_district_84","contest_title":"Tennessee House District 84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","contest_title":"State Representative District 84","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-11-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","contest_title":"State Representative District 84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"Democratic","pgr":"primary","state":"tn"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"tennessee_house_district_84","contest_title":"Tennessee House District 84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026},{"general":{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","contest_title":"State Representative District 84","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-11-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"state_representative_district_84","contest_title":"State Representative District 84","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":null,"party":"Democratic","pgr":"primary","state":"tn"},"term":null,"year":2024}],"office_key":"state_house_84","office_title":"Tennessee House District 84","state":"TN","terms":[]},{"campaigns":[],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"Democratic","primary":null,"term":{"county":null,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_084","office_title":"State Representative District 84","party":"Democratic","state":"TN","term_end":"2026-08-01","term_start":"2024-08-01"},"year":2024},{"general":null,"party":"D","primary":null,"term":{"county":null,"electiondate":"2022-11-08","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_084","office_title":"State Representative District 84","party":"D","state":"tn","term_end":"2024-12-31","term_start":"2023-01-01"},"year":2023}],"office_key":"state_house_084","office_title":"State Representative District 84","state":"TN","terms":[{"county":null,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_084","office_title":"State Representative District 84","party":"Democratic","state":"TN","term_end":"2026-08-01","term_start":"2024-08-01"},{"county":null,"electiondate":"2022-11-08","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_house_084","office_title":"State Representative District 84","party":"D","state":"tn","term_end":"2024-12-31","term_start":"2023-01-01"}]}],"suffix":"Jr.","summary":"Democratic state representative for TN House District 84 since 1995; won the May 2026 Democratic primary for Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk and separately filed for reelection to his House seat.","terms":[{"county":null,"electiondate":"2022-11-08","office":"state_house_084","state":"tn","term_end":"2024-12-31","term_start":"2023-01-01","title":"State Representative District 84"},{"county":null,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","office":"state_house_084","state":"tn","term_end":"2026-08-01","term_start":"2024-08-01","title":"State Representative District 84"}],"token":"IZj74LVUJY"}