{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Matt Rhea","chatgptsummary":"Incumbent Fayette County Commissioner representing District 1 (Somerville area); county email mrhea@fayettetn.us. Direct experience with the county's legislative process \u2014 budget votes, ordinances, resolutions \u2014 on the 14-member commission that meets monthly at the Bill G. Kelley Criminal Justice Center. Has filed 2024, 2025, and 2026 Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest forms in the County Commission capacity. Bio does not indicate career background, education, or public service outside the commission; no additional biographical information was located in Ballotpedia, local news, or Facebook.","notes":"","party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMatt Rhea is the incumbent Fayette County Commissioner for District 1, Position 1 (Somerville), and a Republican candidate for re-election in 2026 [4]. He won a contested May 5, 2026 Republican primary, defeating Dean Clouse 127 votes to 58 (68.65% to 31.35%) [2]. No Democratic candidate qualified for the race, leaving Rhea unopposed for the August 6, 2026 Fayette County general election [2].\n\n## Background and education\nRhea has family roots in Fayette County: he was listed as a casket bearer at the 2007 funeral of William A. \"Bill\" Rhea, Jr., described as a \"native Fayette Countian and United States Veteran,\" and is identified in the obituary as a grandchild of William A. Rhea, Sr. and Jessie Scott Rhea [3]. No source establishes any relation between Matt Rhea and fellow 2026 Fayette County Commission candidate Dave Rhea (District 2, Position 1); the two should not be assumed related.\n\n## Office history\nRhea currently serves as Fayette County Commissioner for District 1 [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Candidate Lists | Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/elections/2026-candidate-lists) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Fayette County Election Commission, 2026 Primary Election Summary Report](https://fayettetn.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/26-5-5-Primary-Totals.pdf) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [William \"Bill\" Rhea, Jr. Obituary, September 28, 2007 - Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes](https://www.peeblesfuneralhome.com/obituaries/william-rheajr)\n[4] [Fayette County Board of County Commissioners](https://fayettetn.us/county-boards-councils/county-commission/) - accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Matt","lastname":"Rhea","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"9YSxfKn3kR"},"token":"matt_rhea"},{"candidatename":"Dean Clouse","chatgptsummary":"A Ballotpedia profile exists for a 'Dean Clouse' who ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 Republican primary for Tennessee's 8th Congressional District, but that entry does not clearly identify the subject as a Fayette County resident and cannot be confirmed as the same person. Bio does not indicate prior Fayette county-budget experience, legislative-process experience, or documented public-service history in the county. No additional biographical information was located in Fayette County commission records or local news. He has not filed a Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest.","notes":"","party":"R","person":{"biography":"Dean Clouse is a Republican candidate running for Fayette County Commissioner, District 1, Position 1 in Tennessee [4]. He resides in Somerville, Tennessee, where he operates a physical therapy clinic [8]. Professionally, Clouse holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, which he earned in 2017 [1]. He is affiliated with Dynamix Physical Therapy LLC and has practiced as a physical therapist for over nine years [11].\n\nBefore his medical career, Clouse served in the U.S. Air Force from 2008 to 2012 as a Security Forces veteran, deploying to Germany, Afghanistan, and Washington state [1], [12]. He earned an associate degree from the Community College of the Air Force in 2011 and a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Technological University in 2014 [1]. During his military service, he also worked as a police officer within the Air Force [1].\n\nClouse previously sought elected office in 2022, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District [12]. He filed to run on March 4, 2022 [12]. In the Republican primary held on August 4, 2022, Clouse received 2.8% of the vote (2,291 votes) but lost to incumbent David Kustoff [1]. During that campaign, he completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, expressing concerns regarding election integrity, government overreach, and education policies [1].\n\nClouse is married and has two children [12].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Dean Clouse - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Dean_Clouse)\n- [4] [Candidate Lists | Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/elections/2026-candidate-lists)\n- [8] [Fayette County residents offer feedback, share concerns as Blue Oval City construction continues | News | fox13memphis.com](https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/fayette-county-residents-offer-feedback-share-concerns-as-blue-oval-city-construction-continues/article_7674f6dc-0fdd-11ee-afe9-2bb660863764.html)\n- [11] [Gary Dean Clouse - Physical Therapy, Collierville TN](https://www.healthcare4ppl.com/physician/tennessee/collierville/gary-dean-clouse-1235666090.html)\n- [12] [Dr. Dean Clouse Announces Campaign For Congress In Tennessee's 8th District | Tennessee Conservative](https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/dr-dean-clouse-announces-campaign-for-congress-in-tennessees-8th-district/)\n","firstname":"Dean","lastname":"Clouse","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"dtoskWLrzo"},"token":"dean_clouse"}],"choices":null,"description":"","district":"1","districtgroup":"county_commission","districtgroupname":"County Commission","districtname":"District 1","job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission_district_1_position_1","office":"county_commission_district_1_position_1","officedescription":"Fayette County Commissioners are members of the county's legislative body. Fayette has 14 single-member districts; some districts elect two commissioners at-large within the district (the second position is noted). The County Commission passes resolutions and ordinances, approves the annual county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and enacts countywide policy. Each commissioner represents roughly 2,000 residents \u2014 a much smaller constituency than in urban counties, where retail relationship-based politics has more weight. Members must complete at least seven hours of continuing education annually through the UT County Technical Assistance Service.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: commissioners set the property-tax rate and approve the county budget.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances.\n- Constituent relations in a district of roughly 2,000 residents \u2014 retail, relationship-based politics.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required seven hours of annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner District 1 Position 1","partisan":1,"pgr":"primary","quantity":1,"referendum":"","source":null,"title":"County Commissioner District 1 Position 1"}