{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nChris Cantrell has served as Blount County Circuit Court Clerk since November 21, 2024, when he was appointed to the position by the Blount County Commission [1]. He is unopposed in the 2026 Republican primary and is the Republican Party nominee on the August 6, 2026 county general election ballot, facing Democratic nominee Danielle Pickle [1][2].\n\n## Career\nCantrell spent nearly three decades with the Blount County Sheriff's Office before his appointment as clerk. He began as a patrol deputy in 1996, later served as a School Resource Officer, and was promoted to Corporal in the patrol division. He went on to serve as the Sheriff's Office Accreditation Manager while holding the ranks of Sergeant and then Lieutenant, was promoted to Captain over Court Services in 2013, and became Deputy Chief of Support Operations \u2014 overseeing adult and juvenile corrections along with court services \u2014 in December 2014 [1].\n\n## Family\nAccording to his official county biography, Cantrell is married to Holly and has four children and three grandsons. He is involved with Alzheimer's Tennessee, Inc., Leadership Blount, and the United Way of Blount County [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Chris Cantrell | Blount County, TN](https://www.blounttn.gov/419/Chris-Cantrell) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [August 6, 2026 Official Ballot for Blount County](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","campaigns":[{"contest":"circuit_court_clerk","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Circuit Court Clerk"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Chris","fullname":"Chris Cantrell","lastname":"Cantrell","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"circuit_court_clerk","contest_title":"Circuit Court Clerk","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"circuit_court_clerk","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"circuit_court_clerk","contest_title":"Circuit Court Clerk","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"circuit_court_clerk","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"circuit_court_clerk","office_title":"Circuit Court Clerk","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Blount County Circuit Court Clerk since November 2024; Republican nominee for a full term on the August 6, 2026 ballot, facing Democrat Danielle Pickle.","terms":[],"token":"b0yoTlOVem"}