{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMaurice Gaines Jr. is the incumbent Lauderdale County Mayor \u2014 the county's chief executive \u2014 and is a candidate in the August 6, 2026 county general election [1][2]. His current term runs through September 1, 2026, and his office is located at 100 Court Square in Ripley [2][3].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nIn 2018, Gaines received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Philanthropy from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Ripley, in recognition of his community leadership and financial contributions to the college [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Early Voting Notice: State Primary, County General, City of Ripley | Lauderdale Tennessee Elections](https://www.lauderdaletnelections.com/2026/07/06/early-voting-notice-state-primary-county-general-city-of-ripley/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Government | Lauderdale County, TN](https://lauderdalecountytn.org/our-county/government/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Maurice Gaines Jr., County Mayor | UT County Technical Assistance Service](https://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/official/maurice-gaines-jr) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[4] [Lauderdale County Mayor Maurice Gaines Jr. Receives Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Philanthropy | TCAT Ripley](https://tcatripley.edu/news/lauderdale-county-mayor-maurice-gaines-jr-receives-chancellors-award-excellence-philanthropy) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Lauderdale","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"MAURICE","fullname":"MAURICE GAINES","lastname":"GAINES","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Lauderdale","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"I","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Lauderdale","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"I","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"I","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Lauderdale County mayor seeking re-election in August 2026; received a 2018 TCAT Ripley award for excellence in philanthropy.","terms":[],"token":"M6NK8e9BHY"}