{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nAustin Dodson is the Republican nominee for Overton County Executive on the August 6, 2026 county general ballot [4]. He won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with about 48 percent of the vote, advancing past Gregg Nivens and Steven Barlow [3]. In his first run for public office he campaigns on \"integrity, accountability, and conservative values,\" fiscal discipline, competitive bidding, hiring qualified applicants, moving public comment to the beginning of County Commission meetings, and support for volunteer fire departments, EMS, and small business [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nDodson was born and raised in Overton County on his family's century-old farm and resides in Rickman [1][2]. He graduated from Livingston Academy in 2015 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Tennessee Technological University's Whitson-Hester School of Nursing in three and a half years [1][2]. He is enrolled in Tennessee Tech's Master of Science in Nursing program to become an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner [1].\n\n## Career\nDodson has worked roughly seven to eight years as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Cookeville Regional Medical Center [1][2]. He is also a real estate investor and business owner with commercial property in Overton County, and earlier held entry-level jobs at the Rickman Marathon and Dollar General [1].\n\n## Family\nHe is the son of Ricky and Paige Dodson; his father, Ricky B. Dodson, is the incumbent Overton County School Board member for District 4 and a candidate on the same 2026 ballot [2][4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [About - Austin Dodson For OCE](https://www.dodsonoce.com/about) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Austin Dodson seeks election as County Executive - Overton County News](https://www.overtoncountynews.com/news/local_state/austin-dodson-seeks-election-as-county-executive/article_e7c06b61-c068-4d6d-9b2b-f6e4c7c8feb7.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Overton County Executive Dodson Advances To August - The UCNow](https://theucnow.com/2026/05/05/overton-county-executive-dodson-advances-to-august/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[4] [Overton County August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot (PDF)](https://overtonvotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TNOVEPG6_SampleInfinityBallot.pdf) - accessed 2026-07-23","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_executive","county":"Overton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Executive"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"AUSTIN","fullname":"AUSTIN DODSON","lastname":"DODSON","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_executive","contest_title":"County Executive","county":"Overton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_executive","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_executive","contest_title":"County Executive","county":"Overton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_executive","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_executive","office_title":"County Executive","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Republican nominee for Overton County Executive; Rickman native and ICU nurse who won the May 2026 GOP primary in his first run for office.","terms":[],"token":"nyEQrxSN3O"}