{"biography":"William Cooper is a Republican candidate running for Knox County Commission District 7 in Tennessee, with the primary election scheduled for May 5, 2026 [11]. He is one of four candidates listed for this specific district seat, alongside Barry Beeler, Buddy Burkhardt, and Justin Mash [11].\n\nPublicly available information does not provide a detailed professional biography or prior elected office history for this specific William Cooper in the context of Knox County politics. The Ballotpedia entry for a \"William Cooper\" describes a member of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency Board of Directors in California, who was re-elected in 2022 [1]. This individual is geographically and politically distinct from the Tennessee candidate.\n\nAnother public figure named Bill Cooper served as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy and previously worked on Capitol Hill and in the private energy sector [6]. He is a native of Tennessee but currently resides in Maryland, and there is no evidence linking him to this local county commission race [6]. Additionally, William Cooper Nell was a 19th-century abolitionist and historian from Boston, who is not relevant to this contemporary election [3].\n\nThe Knox County Commission District 7 seat requires the incumbent or winner to represent the residents of that specific district on the county commission. The primary election will determine which Republican candidate advances to the general election for this local office [11].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [William Cooper - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_Cooper)\n- [2] [Tennessee elections, 2026 - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Tennessee_elections,_2026)\n- [3] [William Cooper Nell (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/people/william-cooper-nell.htm)\n- [4] [Candidate Lists | Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/elections/2026-candidate-lists)\n- [5] [Candidate Information | Williamson County, TN - Official Site](https://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/1743/Candidate-Information)\n- [6] [Bill Cooper | Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/gc/person/bill-cooper)\n- [7] [2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Tennessee_gubernatorial_election)\n- [11] [Meet Knox County Commission candidates for District 3 and 7 - Knox TN Today](https://www.knoxtntoday.com/meet-knox-county-commission-candidates-for-district-3-and-7/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commission District 7"},{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"county_commission_district_7"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"William","fullname":"William Cooper","lastname":"Cooper","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commission District 7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commission District 7","party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commission District 7","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"knox","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"County Commission District 7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commission District 7","party":"D","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"county_commission_district_7","contest_title":"county_commission_district_7","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commission District 7","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_7","office_title":"County Commission District 7","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"William Cooper is a Republican candidate for Knox County Commission District 7 in Tennessee's May 2026 primary.","terms":[],"token":"nClYMteBGz"}