{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJared Anderson, chairman of the Blount County Commission, won the Republican primary for Blount County Mayor on May 5, 2026, defeating four other candidates \u2014 Jerome Moon, Brett Coulter, Brad Bowers, and Shawn Carter Sr. \u2014 with 8,251 votes, a majority in the five-way race; he carried 26 of the county's 27 precincts [1]. He faces Democrat Brian Thomson in the August 6, 2026 general election for the seat being vacated by Ed Mitchell, who did not seek re-election after 16 years as mayor [1].\n\n## Background and education\nAnderson describes himself as a \"9th Generation Blount Countian\" [2]. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law [3].\n\n## Career\nAnderson is a small-business owner and attorney who says he has \"built and ran local small businesses \u2014 creating jobs and meeting payroll\" [2][3]. He has served on the Blount Chamber of Commerce board of directors, chaired the East Tennessee Foundation's Blount County Affiliate Fund advisory board, and is past chairman of the Blount County Young Republicans; he completed the Leadership Blount program in 2020 [3].\n\n## Office history\nAnderson has served on the Blount County Commission as a member and Budget Committee member since 2018, and as commission chairman since 2022 [2].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nAs commission chairman, Anderson says the county will have paid off 47% of its debt service payments by the end of the current fiscal year, without a tax increase or new debt, since he joined the budget committee [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Jared Anderson wins Republican primary for Blount County mayor's race](https://www.wbir.com/article/news/politics/elections/jared-anderson-wins-republican-primary-for-blount-county-mayors-race/51-8ca8dcb1-cd3b-4461-9da6-1c49e79066e1), WBIR\n[2] [Hats in the Ring: County Mayor](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/thedailytimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/37/d37dc9cf-191f-4dc3-b497-b1b17cda0f68/69e68f820647d.pdf.pdf), The Daily Times (candidate questionnaire)\n[3] [About Jared](https://www.andersonforblount.com/about.php), Anderson for Blount County Mayor campaign site","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Jared","fullname":"Jared Anderson","lastname":"Anderson","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_mayor","contest_title":"County Mayor","county":"Blount","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_mayor","office_title":"County Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Blount County Commission chairman since 2022; won the May 2026 GOP primary for County Mayor in a five-way race and faces Democrat Brian Thomson on Aug. 6.","terms":[],"token":"sReHfbdNaj"}