{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRichard \"Richie\" Beeler is a Republican candidate for Knox County Clerk in the May 5, 2026 primary, one of four Republicans on the ballot alongside John J. Duncan, John R. Whitehead, and Rodney Lane; no Democratic candidate is running for the seat [1]. His campaign platform focuses on improving public access to commission library records and expanding motor vehicle services through digitization and self-service technology, building on the work of incumbent Clerk Sherry Witt [1].\n\n## Office history\nBeeler has served as chief of staff in the Knox County Clerk's office since 2022 [1] and previously chaired the Knox County Commission [2].\n\n## Career\nBefore joining the Clerk's office, Beeler spent 27 years in finance at the Knox County Register of Deeds office, managing records systems handling millions of pages of documents [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Meet the candidates for Knox County Clerk](https://www.knoxtntoday.com/meet-the-candidates-for-knox-county-clerk/) - Knox TN Today, accessed 2026-07-11\n[2] [Former county commission chair to run for Knox County clerk](https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/former-county-commission-chair-to-run-for-knox-county-clerk/) - WATE, accessed 2026-07-11 (headline confirms prior commission-chair role; article body returned 403)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_clerk","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"county_clerk"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Richard","fullname":"Richard Beeler","lastname":"Beeler","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_clerk","contest_title":"county_clerk","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":"County Clerk","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"knox","cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"R","primary":{"contest":"county_clerk","contest_title":"county_clerk","county":"Knox","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"knox","office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":"County Clerk","party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_clerk","office_title":"County Clerk","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Richie Beeler, a former Knox County commissioner and son of late law director Richard Beeler, is a Republican candidate for Knox County Clerk in the 2026 primary.","terms":[],"token":"sSCqiElz47"}