Justin D. Cofer

Current office and 2026 campaign

Justin D. Cofer is the Republican nominee for Knox County Commission At-Large Seat 10 in the August 6, 2026 general election, running to replace term-limited Commissioner Larsen Jay ¹. He won the May 2026 Republican primary with 43% of the vote over Kimberly Glenn and Ronnie Rochelle, and faces independent Ronin Cunningham and Democrat Katina Sharp ¹. Cofer describes himself as an "Air Force Veteran. Husband. Father. Conservative Republican." ⁴ His central themes are fiscal accountability, a complete external audit of the county's roughly $1.1 billion budget, a dedicated roads fund, and managed growth: "Growth itself isn't the problem, poor planning is." ²

Background and education

Cofer, 46, lives in the Ball Camp area of West Knox County with his wife and two sons ²⁴. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from King University, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and says he scored in the top 1% nationally on the Peregrine Business Exam ⁴².

Career

Cofer served more than a decade in an Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron as an Electrical Power Production Specialist, work he describes as managing large-scale infrastructure projects with cost controls and multimillion-dollar asset oversight ⁴. Compass Knox describes him as a former civil engineer in the Air Force ². His voter-guide occupation is listed as American Legion legislative liaison ¹. He authored a children's book, "Everyday Heroes," about "service, sacrifice, and community." ⁴

Office history

Cofer has not previously held elected office ². During the campaign he attended county commission meetings and met with county officials including CFO Chris Caldwell and engineering director Jim Snowden, saying, "I'm evolving my views as I learn more...A good leader has to be willing to adjust when you've got the right evidence." ¹

Documented disputes and controversies

Cofer was fired in 2017 from the Morgan County Correctional Complex after an internal investigation; according to the investigation he violated a corrections policy prohibiting staff dealings with offenders and engaged in "conduct unbecoming," and it referenced possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy ³. He worked there in two stints (2006-2008 and 2011-2017); he resigned in 2008 after testing positive for morphine and opiates, which his resignation letter attributed to treatments for health issues from his Iraq deployment ³. Cofer disputed the 2017 allegations, saying "There was zero evidence that I'd done anything wrong" and that an inmate falsely reported he brought a cell phone into the facility; no criminal charges appear in Morgan County records and he said he was never arrested ³.

Family

Cofer is married and has two sons ⁴.

Sources