{"biography":"John Duncan III is a Republican candidate running for Knox County Clerk in Tennessee's 2026 primary election [10]. He is a former Knox County Trustee who resigned from that office in 2013 following a felony misconduct conviction, though his criminal record has since been expunged [10].\n\nDuncan III is the son of former U.S. Representative John J. Duncan Jr. (also known as Jimmy Duncan), who served Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District from 1989 to 2019 [9]. His grandfather was John Duncan Sr., who also represented the district in Congress and served as Mayor of Knoxville [8].\n\nIn his campaign for County Clerk, Duncan III has reported raising $7,600 from his father and stepmother, while loaning his own campaign $20,000 [10]. As of March 31, 2026, he had $23,545 available in funds [10]. He describes himself as a \"proven conservative\" who has cut budgets and made difficult choices, citing over two decades of private sector work experience [11]. Duncan III argues that the County Clerk's office belongs to the citizens and should be run efficiently and professionally at the lowest possible cost [11].\n\nThe Knox County Clerk is a \"jack of all trades\" position with diverse responsibilities, including issuing business and marriage licenses, renewing motor vehicle registrations, collecting liquor and wine taxes, serving as a federal passport agent, processing notary applications, and maintaining records for the County Commission and other boards [10]. Duncan III is one of four Republicans running in the primary; the others are former Knox County Commissioner Richie Beeler, former Property Assessor John Whitehead, and Rodney Lane, a former deputy in the Property Assessor\u2019s Office [10]. No Democrat is running in the general election, meaning the Republican primary winner will hold the office [10].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [John Duncan Jr. (Tennessee) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/John_Duncan_Jr._(Tennessee))\n- [2] [John Duncan Jr. (Tennessee) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/John_Duncan_Jr.)\n- [3] [John Duncan - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/John_Duncan)\n- [4] [John Duncan (Mayor of Coronado, California, candidate 2024) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/John_Duncan_(Mayor_of_Coronado,_California,_candidate_2024))\n- [5] [John J. Duncan, Jr. - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?redirect=no&title=John_J._Duncan,_Jr.)\n- [6] [John James Duncan, Jr. - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=John_James_Duncan,_Jr.&redirect=no)\n- [7] [Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District election (August 2, 2018 Republican primary) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Tennessee's_2nd_Congressional_District_election_(August_2,_2018_Republican_primary))\n- [8] [John Duncan Sr. - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Duncan_Sr.)\n- [9] [Jimmy Duncan (politician) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Duncan_(politician))\n- [10] [Primary 2026: County Clerk | Compass](https://compassknox.com/2026/04/21/primary-2026-county-clerk/)\n- [11] [John Duncan for Knox County Clerk](https://www.johnjduncan.com/)","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":"John","fullname":"John Duncan III","lastname":"Duncan","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":[]}],"suffix":"III","summary":"John Duncan III, a former Knox County Trustee and son of former U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr., is a Republican candidate for Knox County Clerk in the 2026 primary.","terms":[],"token":"vDauaTz353"}