{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Nick Bright","chatgptsummary":"Nick Bright's biography shows over eight years of service on Blount County's Board of Commissioners, including chairing the Commission Workshop Committee and serving on the Budget Committee, which aligns with the office's demands for legislative process and budget literacy. He also holds a thirty-year background in the building trades. Bio does not indicate prior experience as a state legislator or experience managing multi-year bond issues.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nNick Bright is the incumbent Republican Blount County commissioner for District 6, Seat A [1]. He filed for re-election on Dec. 22, 2025 and drew no primary or general-election challenger [2]. He currently serves as chair pro tempore of the Board of Commissioners, reelected to that post at the board's September 2025 organizational meeting under Chairman Jared Anderson [3].\n\n## Career\nBright has described himself as a ninth-generation Blount Countian who has worked in the building trades for more than 30 years [4].\n\n## Office history\nBright has held District 6, Seat A since 2018, term running through Aug. 31, 2026 [1]. He sits on the Budget Committee, Commission Workshop Committee (chair), Human Resources Committee, Insurance Committee, Public Services Committee, the Planning Commission, and the Blount County Fire Protection District Board [1][5]. In 2024 he sought the GOP nomination for TN House District 20; in the Aug. 1, 2024 primary, Tom Stinnett won with 2,352 votes (35.7%), Bright placed second with 2,213 (32.9%), and Jason Emert third with 2,130 (31.4%) [6].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Blount County Government, Legistar \u2014 Nick Bright person detail](https://blounttn.legistar.com/PersonDetail.aspx?ID=202636&GUID=58EEC736-19C5-45A8-8001-8BFB27F26370) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [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[3] [The Daily Times, \"Blount County Board of Commissions gets organized...\"](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/blount-county-board-of-commissions-gets-organized-for-final-commission-year-of-term/article_0b8c53f2-80b4-4ced-b5be-df414e723b2e.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [The Daily Times, \"Candidate profiles for Nick Bright and Phil Tiehen Jr.,\" April 17, 2022](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/candidate-profiles-for-nick-bright-and-phil-tiehen-jr/article_41bb9360-d79e-5c09-9321-32ef561c0d55.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [Blount County, TN, \"Commissioners\"](https://www.blounttn.gov/835/Commissioners) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[6] [The Daily Times, \"Blount's primary voters send Hatcher, Stinnett and DuBois to November general election,\" Aug. 2024](https://www.thedailytimes.com/mdt/blounts-primary-voters-send-hatcher-stinnett-and-dubois-to-november-general-election/article_15234540-503d-11ef-a4d3-b76576c58449.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Nick","lastname":"Bright","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"IxtFvVq6KB"},"token":"nick_bright"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_6","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":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-02","title":"Blount County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF"},"title":"County Commission District 6, Seat A"}