{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Andy (Andrew) J. Swafford","chatgptsummary":"Swafford's tenure as a Bledsoe County Commissioner demonstrates direct experience with county budgeting, land use, and constituent relations within Tennessee law. He currently serves on the Budget and Agriculture committees while managing a large agricultural operation and a small business. The biography documents no controversies or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate experience in drafting complex legislation or completing state-required continuing education through UT CTAS.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nAndy (Andrew) J. Swafford serves as a Bledsoe County Commissioner representing District 2, where he sits on the commission's Budget and Agriculture committees [1]. In 2026 he is a Republican candidate for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 31, running in the August 6 Republican primary ahead of the November 3 general election [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nA lifelong resident of Bledsoe County, Swafford was raised on his family's farm in the Cold Springs community. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Plant Sciences, with a concentration in Genetics and Biotechnology and a minor in Entrepreneurship, from the University of Tennessee [1][2].\n\n## Career\nSwafford manages a large agricultural operation for Aviagen North America, where he oversees the monthly movement of more than three million eggs across North America and leads a team supporting one of the region's largest agricultural employers [1][2]. He also owns and operates a farm and small business with his brother in the district [1]. He chairs the Tennessee Young Republicans [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Swafford runs for State House - The Bledsonian-Banner](https://www.thebledsonian-banner.com/2026/06/09/swafford-runs-for-state-house/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Vote Andy Swafford for State Representative (campaign site)](https://andyswafford.com/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Andy","lastname":"Swafford","middlename":"(Andrew) J.","suffix":null,"token":"PySObiBmBz"},"token":"andy_andrew_j_swafford"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_2_seat_b","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":null,"pgr":"primary","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-21","title":"Bledsoe County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://tnsos.org/elections/ballots/745.pdf"},"title":"County Commission District 2, Part B"}