{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJ. Shain Vowell is a Republican candidate for Anderson County Commission District 4 in Tennessee [104]. He works as an employee of the Anderson County Sheriff's Department [104]. In the August 2016 Republican primary, Vowell was the only candidate to qualify for the seat, effectively securing the nomination before the general election [104]. The commission had previously appointed Zach Bates to fill the vacancy left by former Commissioner Chris Phillips until the August election, but Bates opted not to run for the remaining two years of the term [104]. Vowell\u2019s candidacy was noted in local coverage as part of a broader set of last-minute filings for various county and state offices in Anderson County that year [104].\n\n## Sources\n\n[104] [Last-minute candidates file for lawmaker\u2019s seat](https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/politics/last-minute-candidates-file-for-lawmakers-seat-2fe61b83-e08d-792b-e053-0100007f4aad-374956441.html/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-03\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","county":"Anderson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commission District 4"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"J.","fullname":"J. Shain Vowell","lastname":"Vowell","middlename":"Shain","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","contest_title":"County Commission District 4","county":"Anderson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","contest_title":"County Commission District 4","county":"Anderson","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":"County Commission District 4","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Anderson County Commissioner and commission Vice Chairman, District 4; chairs the Library Board amid a book-content dispute; seeking re-election as a Republican, Aug. 6, 2026.","terms":[],"token":"KxRTEwWPwH"}