{"biography":"> **Editorial note - same-name confusion.** This candidate shares his name with Rip Van Winkle, the title character of Washington Irving's well-known short story, which dominates web searches for the name. The person described here is a Van Buren County, Tennessee resident and candidate for county office; he is unrelated to the fictional character.\n\n## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRip Van Winkle is a Republican candidate for the Van Buren County Commission, District 3, on the August 6, 2026 county general ballot.\n\n## Office history\nVan Winkle has previously served in Van Buren County government. He appeared on the county's August 2018 official ballot as a candidate for County Commissioner, District 3 [1], and is recorded participating in County Commission proceedings in county commission minutes from this period [2]. He is also listed as a Van Buren County contact for the Tennessee Republican Party [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Official Ballot, Van Buren County, August 2018 (TN Secretary of State)](https://tnsos.org/elections/ballots/383.pdf) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Minutes of the Van Buren County Commission, March 21, 2017](https://vanburencountytn.com/agendas_minutes/minutes/2017/03212017.pdf) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Find Your County GOP - Tennessee Republican Party](https://tngop.org/find-your-county-gop) - accessed 2026-07-23","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_3","county":"Vanburen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 3"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"RIP","fullname":"RIP VAN WINKLE","lastname":"WINKLE","middlename":"VAN","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_3","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 3","county":"Vanburen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_3","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_3","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 3","county":"Vanburen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_3","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_3","office_title":"County Commissioner District 3","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Republican candidate for Van Buren County Commission, District 3; previously served on the county commission and is a local Republican Party contact.","terms":[],"token":"g7JFGLcfdZ"}