{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBobby Lee Jinks is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 7, listed as Bobby Jinks of Bulls Gap among the district's two current commissioners alongside Robert Palmer [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee for one of the district's two seats on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, running alongside fellow incumbent Republican Robbie Palmer [2]. He filed for re-election in early 2026 [3].\n\n## Office history\nJinks represents District 7, which includes Bulls Gap, Cherokee, and St. Clair [1]. In the Republican primary he received 638 votes, edging former commissioner Michael Herrell by 22 votes [4].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nIn the days before the commission's September 22, 2025 meeting, Jinks worked with County Mayor Mark DeWitte, fellow District 7 Commissioner Robbie Palmer, and county attorney Allen Coup to draft the resolution \u2014 enacted using Tennessee's County Powers Act \u2014 that banned cryptocurrency mines and data centers in Hawkins County in response to public opposition to ExoticRidge's proposed Bulls Gap Bitcoin-mining operation [5][6].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commission](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/county_commission.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Official Ballot, Hawkins County, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Here's who is running for office in Hawkins County](https://timesnews.net/news/355530/heres-who-is-running-for-office-in-hawkins-county/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Hawkins Commission bans crypto farms, datacenters](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/business/article_9d9aedd5-3cda-483f-9e93-b5a947051ab5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[6] [Hawkins commission unearthed County Powers Act to ban crypto mines](https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/hawkins-commission-unearthed-county-powers-act-to-ban-crypto-mines/article_95549d15-e563-4b15-8537-ecd533ebfdad.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 7"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"BOBBY","fullname":"BOBBY LEE JINKS","lastname":"JINKS","middlename":"LEE","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 7","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commissioner District 7","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner from Bulls Gap who co-authored the county's 2025 crypto-mine and data-center ban, seeking re-election as a Republican.","terms":[],"token":"iVGBdVvX5T"}