{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrian Thomson was the only Democrat to file for Blount County Mayor in the 2026 cycle and ran unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary [1][2]. He faces Republican Jared Anderson in the August 6, 2026 general election for the seat being vacated by Ed Mitchell, who did not seek re-election after 16 years as mayor [1]. Of his campaign, Thomson has said: \"There's work to be done, and I want to be part of it\" [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Jared Anderson wins Republican primary for Blount County mayor's race](https://www.wbir.com/article/news/politics/elections/jared-anderson-wins-republican-primary-for-blount-county-mayors-race/51-8ca8dcb1-cd3b-4461-9da6-1c49e79066e1), WBIR\n[2] [County mayor, clerk primary filings pick up as deadline nears](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/county-mayor-clerk-primary-filings-pick-up-as-deadline-nears/article_b6bdaf25-5202-4778-bf2a-033c130cc248.html), The Daily Times\n[3] [Talking with Blount County mayoral candidates ahead of primary elections](https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/maryville-blount/talking-blount-county-mayoral-candidates-primary-elections/51-9110b15f-9cd9-4632-8676-fa09a5d2fdde), WBIR","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Brian","fullname":"Brian Thomson","lastname":"Thomson","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Only Democrat to file for Blount County Mayor in 2026; faces Republican Jared Anderson on Aug. 6 for the seat retiring 16-year Mayor Ed Mitchell is vacating.","terms":[],"token":"WWynEpkEUZ"}