{"age":54,"biography":"Austin Garrett is a Republican candidate running for re-election as Sheriff of Hamilton County, Tennessee, in the May 5, 2026, primary election [8]. He was first elected to the office in 2022 and sworn in on September 1, 2022, becoming the 60th Sheriff of the Hamilton County Sheriff\u2019s Office [4]. Prior to his election as sheriff, Garrett served as Chief Deputy, an appointment made by his predecessor, Sheriff Jim Hammond, in February 2019 [4]. Before joining the Sheriff's Office, he spent 25 years with the Chattanooga Police Department, retiring as a lieutenant after commanding the Tactical and Traffic Operations Division [4].\n\nGarrett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Bethel University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 273 and the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy Session 11 [4]. As Sheriff, he oversees an agency with 540 personnel and a budget exceeding $68 million, serving Hamilton County, which has over 369,000 residents across 576 square miles [4]. During his first term, Garrett focused on consolidating jail facilities, implementing historic pay raises for employees, and establishing a recruiting services unit that gained national recognition [5]. He also pursued a voluntary agreement with federal immigration authorities to identify unauthorized immigrants arrested on criminal charges [10].\n\nGarrett was born in Bryant, Alabama, and moved to Hamilton County in 1993 [4]. He is married to Pam McAllister-Garrett, and they have two children, Haley Masterson and Maddie Garrett [4]. The couple are members of Shelter Church in East Brainerd [4]. In addition to his official duties, Garrett serves on the legislative committee for the Tennessee Sheriff\u2019s Association and as a board member for organizations including YCAP, Crime Stoppers, the Hamilton County 911 Board, and the Forgotten Child Fund [4]. He announced his re-election bid in September 2025, stating his first term focused on building a brand founded on customer service, professionalism, and innovation [8].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Austin Garrett - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Austin_Garrett)\n- [2] [United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Tennessee,_2026)\n- [3] [Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Tennessee_gubernatorial_election,_2026)\n- [4] [Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Website](https://www.hcsheriff.gov/gen_info/about_sheriff.php)\n- [5] [Hamilton County Sheriff\u2019s Office-Tennessee-Press Releases](https://www.hcsheriff.gov/pressreleases/display.php?releaseid=1135)\n- [6] [Candidate Lists | Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/elections/2026-candidate-lists)\n- [7] [Sheriff Austin Garret Announces Endorsements In Hamilton County Commission Primaries - Chattanoogan.com](https://www.chattanoogan.com/2026/4/28/518063/Sheriff-Austin-Garret-Announces.aspx)\n- [8] [Sheriff Austin Garrett running for reelection | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/sep/04/sheriff-austin-garrett-running-for-reelection/)\n- [9] [Chief Deputy Austin Garrett announces bid for Hamilton County sheriff | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2021/oct/14/chief-deputy-austin-garrett-run-hamilton-sheriff/556057/)\n- [10] [Hamilton County Sheriff says his office moving forward on ICE agreement | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/feb/27/hamilton-county-sheriff-says-his-office-moving/)","birthdate":"Tue, 26 Oct 1971 00:00:00 GMT","campaigns":[{"contest":"sheriff","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[{"county":"hamilton","displayname":"Garrett, 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Treasurer","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/31/24","documentid":"9847A08A-E69E-4448-B4A9-A5E49D674DBA","documentname":"Amended 2023 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["9847A08A-E69E-4448-B4A9-A5E49D674DBA","Amended 2023 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/31/24","documentid":"469AA52B-4BEF-4FFA-B1E4-64A21D0694E6","documentname":"2023 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["469AA52B-4BEF-4FFA-B1E4-64A21D0694E6","2023 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/13/23","documentid":"7D4C6193-9510-4598-8FD8-E5B3A030A9B9","documentname":"2023 Mid-Year Supplemental","documentnameid":["7D4C6193-9510-4598-8FD8-E5B3A030A9B9","2023 Mid-Year Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/25/23","documentid":"9B81AB5D-6DA7-42BD-AB45-34E88C97CF79","documentname":"4th Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["9B81AB5D-6DA7-42BD-AB45-34E88C97CF79","4th Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"10/11/22","documentid":"C2FB6547-F3C4-4378-9F01-D25C93886946","documentname":"3rd Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["C2FB6547-F3C4-4378-9F01-D25C93886946","3rd Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/26/22","documentid":"054BC849-3D3A-4AE4-BBDE-196FBF56062F","documentname":"Pre-General 2022","documentnameid":["054BC849-3D3A-4AE4-BBDE-196FBF56062F","Pre-General 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/07/22","documentid":"7B331BFA-36C8-42CC-8A49-BE54A6A580CB","documentname":"2nd Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["7B331BFA-36C8-42CC-8A49-BE54A6A580CB","2nd Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"04/26/22","documentid":"8CB975C3-387C-4FA6-99E3-79F717FA9DA0","documentname":"Pre-Primary 2022","documentnameid":["8CB975C3-387C-4FA6-99E3-79F717FA9DA0","Pre-Primary 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"04/11/22","documentid":"F4F04ABB-E4A9-463C-968E-64C64E99206E","documentname":"1st Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["F4F04ABB-E4A9-463C-968E-64C64E99206E","1st Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/31/22","documentid":"39B0AFEF-90D2-48EB-8470-5918F385A364","documentname":"2021 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["39B0AFEF-90D2-48EB-8470-5918F385A364","2021 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/14/21","documentid":"C8E99919-C954-4A3B-A95E-449F20BF9655","documentname":"2021 Mid-Year Supplemental ","documentnameid":["C8E99919-C954-4A3B-A95E-449F20BF9655","2021 Mid-Year Supplemental "],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/27/21","documentid":"2785F5B6-C83C-41CC-8FEA-D54C4B4BE628","documentname":"2020 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["2785F5B6-C83C-41CC-8FEA-D54C4B4BE628","2020 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/14/20","documentid":"614AC7C3-F080-4C37-BA19-E677E0E63832","documentname":"2020 Mid-Year Supplemental","documentnameid":["614AC7C3-F080-4C37-BA19-E677E0E63832","2020 Mid-Year Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"01/31/20","documentid":"F438CB56-9D0F-4A58-83FF-B7FE3CFD4673","documentname":"2019 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["F438CB56-9D0F-4A58-83FF-B7FE3CFD4673","2019 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"10/10/19","documentid":"890A5179-3C83-414B-AA98-3AF50F92DD33","documentname":"Appt of Treasurer 2022","documentnameid":["890A5179-3C83-414B-AA98-3AF50F92DD33","Appt of Treasurer 2022"],"documenttype":"Appointment of Political Treasurer","electionname":null}],"filertype":"Candidate","officename":"Sheriff","source_customer_id":"0F5A08EE-617A-4B11-AD30-E963AE98E120","source_filer_id":"9D25353C-A62E-4CC2-8A9D-6D453A1BE2AA","source_system":"easyvote","state":"TN","status":"Active"}],"firstname":"Austin","fullname":"Austin Garrett","lastname":"Garrett","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"sheriff","contest_title":"sheriff","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"hamilton","cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"R","primary":{"contest":"sheriff","contest_title":"sheriff","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026},{"general":null,"party":null,"primary":null,"term":{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"},"year":2022}],"office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","state":"TN","terms":[{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}]}],"summary":"Republican Austin Garrett seeks re-election as Hamilton County, TN Sheriff in the May 2026 primary; he was first elected in 2022 after serving as Chief Deputy and a Chattanooga police lieutenant.","terms":[{"county":"hamilton","electiondate":"2022-08-04","office":"sheriff","state":"TN","term_end":"2026-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01","title":"Sheriff"}],"token":"NYQIghGxQ0"}