{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"CINDY RUTLEDGE","chatgptsummary":"Cindy Rutledge's biography shows relevant experience as deputy county clerk in Hawkins County, indicating familiarity with high-volume public-facing operations and internal office procedures. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate specific experience managing motor-vehicle registrations or detailed knowledge of Tennessee statutes governing marriage licenses and business-tax fees.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCindy Rutledge is the Republican nominee for Hawkins County Clerk on the August 6, 2026 ballot, running unopposed in the general election [1][2]. She is seeking to succeed Nancy A. Davis, who has served as county clerk since 2014 and did not file for re-election [3][4].\n\n## Career\nRutledge currently serves as deputy county clerk in the Hawkins County Clerk's office [3].\n\n## Office history\nRutledge won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary for county clerk with 5,848 votes to Austin Ray Bradley's 1,649 [1][5]. With no Democratic or independent candidate filed, she is expected to be certified as clerk after the August 6 general election [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [No excuses: Stewart wins primary, Linkous unseats DeWitte (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_f3f7b9f3-e7c6-4839-9584-7f87024cae4a.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Official ballot, Hawkins County, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [County Clerks Locations (Tennessee Department of Revenue)](https://www.tn.gov/revenue/title-and-registration/county-clerks-locations.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Cindy Rutledge, Austin Ray Bradley run for Hawkins County clerk (Kingsport Times News)](https://timesnews.net/news/364051/cindy-rutledge-austin-ray-bradley-run-for-hawkins-county-clerk/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"CINDY","lastname":"RUTLEDGE","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"PnO2rVA9MO"},"token":"cindy_rutledge"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_clerk","o.office":null,"office":"county_clerk","officedescription":"The county clerk handles a broad set of public transactions and records: marriage and business licenses, motor-vehicle titling and registration, notary commissions, and the official minutes of the county commission. It is a high-volume administrative and records office.","officequalities":"- Administration of motor-vehicle registration, license plates, marriage licenses, and business-tax registrations \u2014 a high-volume, public-facing operation.\n- Working knowledge of the Tennessee statutes governing each of those functions, which change regularly.\n- Customer-service capacity: the clerk's office is one of the most-visited county offices by ordinary residents.\n- Financial controls for collecting state and local fees and remitting them accurately.\n- Supervision of office staff handling high transaction volume, and technology and process management as more services move online.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Clerk","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-18","title":"Hawkins County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf"},"title":"County Clerk"}