JOHN GARRETT

Current office and 2026 campaign

John Garrett is the incumbent Overton County Sheriff and the Republican nominee seeking re-election on the August 6, 2026 county general ballot ¹². His campaign emphasizes school safety, jail standards, and drug interdiction ¹.

Office history

Garrett began his law enforcement career in 2001 as a correctional officer, then attended the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy ¹. He "served for about three years" as a deputy sheriff before promotion to sergeant and shift supervisor, also serving as a general departmental (training) instructor, and was subsequently appointed chief deputy ¹. He states, "in 2014, I was elected Sheriff" ¹.

Legislative record and accomplishments

Garrett cites assigning School Resource Officers to all four elementary schools outside the city limits, establishing PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) compliance in the county jail, active drug-interdiction efforts confiscating "hundreds of thousands of dollars," and inmate work programs generating county revenue ¹. He serves on the 13th Judicial District Drug Taskforce, the Upper Cumberland Family Justice Center, Overton County Recovery Court (since 2015), and the Local Emergency Planning Committee, and is a member of Green Pond Masonic Lodge #703 ¹.

Family

Garrett describes himself as "a lifelong resident of Overton County" and "the son of Floyd and the late Olene Stover Garrett" ¹. His wife, Melissa Garrett, is executive director of Genesis House, Inc., a domestic-violence nonprofit; they have three children ¹.

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