{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCarolyn Templeton is the incumbent Sumner County Clerk and the Republican Party nominee for County Clerk on the August 6, 2026 ballot, facing independent candidate Hayden James Escobar [1]. She won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 10,655 votes [2].\n\n## Career and office history\nTempleton was elected Sumner County Clerk in 2022 after serving approximately 27 years as Chief Deputy Clerk in the same office [3][4]. Her work has spanned court administration, public records management, and citizen licensing services; as County Clerk she oversees administrative functions including motor-vehicle titling and registration, business licensing, and public records [3][4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Federal and State Primary, State Judicial and Sumner County General Elections Sample Ballot](https://www.votesumnertn.org/uploads/files/884379eec0cf6e5fb6f5678acff70a3783bde79d.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Sumner County elections: Who's ahead in the May 5 primary's key races](https://www.aol.com/articles/sumner-county-elections-whos-ahead-204532050.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[3] [Carolyn Templeton \u2014 UT County Technical Assistance Service](https://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/official/carolyn-templeton) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[4] [Carolyn Templeton \u2014 Sumner County, Tennessee Government](https://sumnercountytn.gov/carolyn-templeton/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_clerk","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Clerk"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"CAROLYN","fullname":"CAROLYN TEMPLETON","lastname":"TEMPLETON","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_clerk","contest_title":"County Clerk","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_clerk","contest_title":"County Clerk","county":"Sumner","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":"County Clerk","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Sumner County Clerk, elected in 2022 after about 27 years as chief deputy clerk; Republican nominee seeking re-election.","terms":[],"token":"LsXri8EMfU"}