{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCharlene Thomas currently serves as a District 5 member of the Carter County Commission and is a candidate in the August 6, 2026 county general election [1][2]. Each of Carter County's commission districts elects three members; District 5 currently has one vacant seat [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Board of Commissioners \u2014 Carter County TN](https://www.cartercountytn.gov/government/commissioners.php) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Carter County Election Office (Aug 6, 2026 sample ballot) \u2014 Carter County TN](https://cartercountytn.gov/services/election_office.php) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_5","county":"Carter","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 5"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"CHARLENE","fullname":"CHARLENE THOMAS","lastname":"THOMAS","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_5","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 5","county":"Carter","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_5","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_5","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 5","county":"Carter","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_5","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_5","office_title":"County Commissioner District 5","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Sitting Carter County commissioner for District 5; running in the 2026 county general election.","terms":[],"token":"ngNE9poWS2"}