{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Jenny Jordan","chatgptsummary":"Jenny Jordan's biography shows she filed as the Democratic nominee for Blount County Commission District 5 in 2026 and previously ran for this seat in 2022, losing to the incumbent. The record contains no mention of controversy or disciplinary action. Bio does not indicate prior experience with county budgeting, legislative drafting, or constituent case-work.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJenny Jordan is the Democratic nominee for Blount County Commission District 5, Seat B, facing Republican incumbent Rick Carver in the Aug. 6, 2026 general election [1][2][3]. She filed her petition Dec. 30, 2025, the first Democrat to file for a county commission seat in the 2026 cycle, and had no primary opponent [4][5].\n\n## Office history\nJordan previously ran for the same seat in 2022, losing to Carver 603 votes (30.70%) to 1,361 votes (69.30%) [6].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Blount County Election Commission, \"May 5, 2026 Petitions\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29506/May-5-2026-Petitions-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Blount County Election Commission, \"May 5, 2026 Sample Ballot\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29846/May-5-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Blount County Election Commission, \"August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [The Daily Times, \"August candidates take petitions on opening day\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/august-candidates-take-petitions-on-opening-day/article_d135953f-99a8-4f48-b4f4-05a2658b396d.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [The Daily Times, \"Blount County primary fields are set\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/blount-county-primary-fields-are-set/article_c928c6a7-a486-43e4-823e-3028b38b0891.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[6] [FetchYourNews, \"Blount County General Election Results,\" Aug. 4, 2022](https://fetchyournews.com/featured-stories/blount-county-general-election-results/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Jenny","lastname":"Jordan","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"WP0OFisFXN"},"token":"jenny_jordan"},{"candidatename":"Rick Carver","chatgptsummary":"Rick Carver's biography shows incumbent experience serving on multiple committees including Rules and I.T., alongside a history of legislative voting and abstentions on hospital governance matters. The record documents no disciplinary actions or controversies beyond noted abstentions during disputes. Bio does not indicate prior budget drafting experience or state-mandated continuing education completion.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRick Carver is the incumbent Blount County commissioner for District 5, Seat B [1][2]. He filed for re-election as a Republican, drew no primary opponent, and faces Democrat Jenny Jordan in the Aug. 6, 2026 general election [1][3].\n\n## Background and education\nCarver has been open about a serious health event: in August 2020, while serving as commissioner, he received a kidney transplant at Emory Transplant Center in Atlanta after his kidney function declined to about 10% following an undiagnosed blood clot in his renal vein in the early 1990s. The donor, Alcoa Police Officer Joey Beasley, gave a kidney through a paired-donation exchange despite not being a direct match. Carver, then 53, called it \"a new lease on life\" [4].\n\n## Career\nCarver works as a respiratory therapist at Blount Memorial Hospital [4].\n\n## Office history\nCarver is the incumbent for District 5, Seat B, term running Sept. 1, 2022 \u2013 Aug. 31, 2026 [5]. He won re-election in the May 2022 Republican primary, defeating Thomas Antkow 794\u2013182 [6]. He serves on the county's Animal Center Advisory Board, Beer Board, Blount 250 Committee, Commission Rules Committee, Commission Workshop Committee, Human Resources Committee, Insurance Committee, and I.T. Committee [2].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nCarver abstained on a split (11-6-1) commission vote in March 2023 nominating Amber Krupacs to the Blount Memorial Hospital board, part of a broader hospital-governance dispute [7]. He also abstained on the commission's May 2023 final-reading vote (17-2-1-1) amending the 1945 act governing Blount Memorial Hospital, which gave the county explicit authority to contract with and remove hospital managers [8].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Blount County Election Commission, \"May 5, 2026 Petitions\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29506/May-5-2026-Petitions-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Blount County, TN, \"Commissioners\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/835/Commissioners) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [The Daily Times, \"Blount County primary fields are set\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/blount-county-primary-fields-are-set/article_c928c6a7-a486-43e4-823e-3028b38b0891.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [The Daily Times, \"Kidney transplant goes well for Blount County Commissioner Rick Carver,\" Aug. 31, 2020](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/kidney-transplant-goes-well-for-blount-county-commissioner-rick-carver/article_7e4496a0-66ba-5476-9b14-5f30d24c8c1a.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] Blount County, TN, \"Commissioners Contact Info\" (term record) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[6] [The Daily Times, \"Incumbents secure strong primary victories in contested Blount County Commission races\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/incumbents-secure-strong-primary-victories-in-contested-blount-county-commission-races/article_f8d0ce43-a8a1-5c48-a0bb-a0f3f89cd939.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[7] [The Daily Times, \"County votes on Blount Memorial board appointment, discusses hospital controversy\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/county-votes-on-blount-memorial-board-appointment-discusses-hospital-controversy/article_1401d7ea-c8fc-11ed-96b1-ef6d983c8091.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[8] [The Daily Times, \"Blount County Commission OKs change to controversial hospital act on final reading\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/mdt/blount-county-commission-oks-change-to-controversial-hospital-act-on-final-reading/article_5ef903b2-f5e9-11ed-9e71-472fa86cc6cc.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Rick","lastname":"Carver","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"JETgbA8lB0"},"token":"rick_carver"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_5_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":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"County Commission District 5, Seat B"}