{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWill Monk is the incumbent Washington County General Sessions Judge, Part I, running as a Republican in the Aug. 6, 2026 general election [1]. Monk won the Republican primary over former Johnson City Mayor Steve Darden, 4,492 votes to 3,237 (about 58%) [2].\n\n## Background and education\nMonk holds a J.D. from the University of Memphis and a B.A. in political science and history from King University [1].\n\n## Career\nBefore becoming judge, Monk spent more than 20 years as an Assistant District Attorney in Tennessee's First Judicial District, prosecuting criminal cases and handling juvenile matters, child support enforcement, and mental-health-related cases [1].\n\n## Office history\nMonk was appointed to the General Sessions bench in 2025, succeeding Judge Robert Lincoln [3]. In his first six months on the bench he cleared more than 3,000 cases and has emphasized juvenile and family cases and the court's mental-health treatment program [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Washington County general sessions judge part one candidate: Will Monk \u2014 Johnson City Press](https://johnsoncitypress.com/news/368547/washington-county-general-sessions-judge-part-one-candidate-will-monk/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Monk defeats Darden, will retain Sessions Judge post \u2014 WJHL](https://www.wjhl.com/news/your-local-election-hq/monk-defeats-darden-will-retain-sessions-judge-post/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Will Monk tapped to replace Judge Robert Lincoln \u2014 WJHL](https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/will-monk-tapped-to-replace-judge-robert-lincoln/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","campaigns":[{"contest":"general_sessions_judge_unexpired","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"General Sessions Judge Part I"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"WILLIAM","fullname":"WILLIAM \"WILL\" MONK","lastname":"MONK","middlename":"\"WILL\"","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"general_sessions_judge_unexpired","contest_title":"General Sessions Judge Part I","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"washington","office_key":"general_sessions_judge","office_title":"General Sessions Judge","party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":"washington","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"general_sessions_judge_unexpired","contest_title":"General Sessions Judge Part I","county":"Washington","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"washington","office_key":"general_sessions_judge","office_title":"General Sessions Judge","party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"general_sessions_judge","office_title":"General Sessions Judge","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Washington County General Sessions Judge, Part I, since 2025; a former 20-year Assistant District Attorney, running for a full term Aug. 6, 2026.","terms":[],"token":"u1CaIdr9jD"}