{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWendell Wells Blankenship, who also goes by \"Wells,\" is an independent candidate on Tennessee's certified 2026 candidate list for the redrawn 8th Congressional District, alongside fellow independents Adam D. Austill and Pamela Jeanine \"P.\" Moses, Republican incumbent David Kustoff, and several Democrats [1][2]. He previously ran as an independent candidate for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District in the 2024 general election, held November 5, 2024, receiving 3,708 votes; incumbent Democrat Steve Cohen won reelection, defeating Blankenship (listed on the official ballot as \"Wendell Wells\"), Republican Charlotte Bergmann, and independent Dennis Clark [3][4].\n\n## Background and education\nBlankenship grew up in a business family in Knoxville, Tennessee, and graduated from the Webb School of Knoxville in 1979, according to his company's website [5].\n\n## Career\nBlankenship describes his career as spanning real estate, insurance, trading, residential property management, and commercial fishing in the Bering Sea [5]. He owns Big American Media, a Memphis-based firm offering web design, photography and video production, and advertising services [5]. In his 2024 congressional campaign, Blankenship's platform centered on a proposed \"Confidence Amendment\" to the U.S. Constitution that would limit members of Congress to six years of service, bar campaign funds and salaries for family members, and require members to place investments in a blind trust while in office [4].\n\n## Family\nBlankenship has described himself as a single custodial parent [5].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Tennessee's redrawn congressional districts: A full guide to every candidate running in 2026 - NewsChannel 5](https://www.newschannel5.com/news/tennessees-redrawn-congressional-districts-a-full-guide-to-every-candidate-running-in-2026) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Who's running where? Tennessee posts candidate list for redrawn congressional districts - WSMV](https://www.wsmv.com/2026/05/17/whos-running-where-tennessee-posts-candidate-list-redrawn-congressional-districts/) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2024 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Tennessee's_9th_Congressional_District_election,_2024) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [WELLS, WENDELL - Candidate overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H4TN09121/) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [About - Big American Media](http://bigamericanmedia.com/about/) - accessed 2026-07-06 (candidate's own company site; background is self-described)","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_representative_district_9","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"US Representative, District 9"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Wendell","fullname":"Wendell \"Wells\" Blankenship","lastname":"Blankenship","middlename":"\"Wells\"","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_representative_district_9","contest_title":"US Representative, District 9","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-11-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_representative_district_9","office_title":"US Representative, District 9","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"us_representative_district_9","contest_title":"US Representative, District 9","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2024-11-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_representative_district_9","office_title":"US Representative, District 9","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2024}],"office_key":"us_representative_district_9","office_title":"US Representative, District 9","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Memphis media-business owner and independent candidate for Tennessee's 8th District in 2026; previously ran for the 9th District in 2024, losing to Steve Cohen.","terms":[],"token":"XEvGOhdPTI"}