{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"BOBBY LEE JINKS","chatgptsummary":"Bobby Lee Jinks serves as an incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 7, demonstrating legislative experience by drafting and enacting a resolution to ban cryptocurrency mines using state law. His record includes committee work on land use and constituent relations within his district. The biography documents no controversies or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate budget literacy or continuing education experience.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBobby Lee Jinks is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 7, listed as Bobby Jinks of Bulls Gap among the district's two current commissioners alongside Robert Palmer [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee for one of the district's two seats on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, running alongside fellow incumbent Republican Robbie Palmer [2]. He filed for re-election in early 2026 [3].\n\n## Office history\nJinks represents District 7, which includes Bulls Gap, Cherokee, and St. Clair [1]. In the Republican primary he received 638 votes, edging former commissioner Michael Herrell by 22 votes [4].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nIn the days before the commission's September 22, 2025 meeting, Jinks worked with County Mayor Mark DeWitte, fellow District 7 Commissioner Robbie Palmer, and county attorney Allen Coup to draft the resolution \u2014 enacted using Tennessee's County Powers Act \u2014 that banned cryptocurrency mines and data centers in Hawkins County in response to public opposition to ExoticRidge's proposed Bulls Gap Bitcoin-mining operation [5][6].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commission](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/county_commission.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](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Here's who is running for office in Hawkins County](https://timesnews.net/news/355530/heres-who-is-running-for-office-in-hawkins-county/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Hawkins Commission bans crypto farms, datacenters](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/business/article_9d9aedd5-3cda-483f-9e93-b5a947051ab5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[6] [Hawkins commission unearthed County Powers Act to ban crypto mines](https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/hawkins-commission-unearthed-county-powers-act-to-ban-crypto-mines/article_95549d15-e563-4b15-8537-ecd533ebfdad.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"BOBBY","lastname":"JINKS","middlename":"LEE","suffix":null,"token":"iVGBdVvX5T"},"token":"bobby_lee_jinks"},{"candidatename":"ROBBIE PALMER","chatgptsummary":"Palmer's biography shows relevant experience drafting and amending ordinances on land use, managing constituent opposition to a data center project, and navigating litigation with legal counsel. He has served as an incumbent commissioner since at least 2025. Bio does not indicate prior budget literacy or completed continuing education through UT CTAS.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobbie Palmer is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 7, listed as Robert Palmer of Rogersville among the district's two current commissioners alongside Bobby Jinks [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee for one of the district's two seats on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, running alongside fellow incumbent Republican Bobby Lee Jinks [2]. He filed for re-election in early 2026 [3].\n\n## Family\nRobbie Palmer is the son of former Hawkins County Commissioner Bob (Robert) Palmer, who previously served as chairman of the county's E-911 board [4].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nPalmer wrote the crypto-mine and data-center ban resolution that came before the Hawkins County Board of Commissioners in September 2025 in response to constituent opposition to ExoticRidge's planned Bitcoin-mining operation in Bulls Gap; he worked on the language with County Mayor Mark DeWitte, fellow District 7 Commissioner Bobby Jinks, and county attorney Allen Coup [5][6]. Palmer said \"[t]he citizens made their voices loud and clear\" against the project and framed the county's response as focused on \"the health, safety and convenience of the citizens\" [5]. He had earlier said he preferred common-sense regulation to a blanket ban, but chose the ban after the county unearthed authority under the state's County Powers Act [5][6]. After ExoticRidge sued to overturn the ordinance, Palmer helped bring in the Southern Environmental Law Center to assist Hawkins County in the litigation [7].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commission](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/county_commission.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](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [E-911 Board: Lifeguard running calls in Bulls Gap](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_0f35d680-8229-11e4-a1d2-b76e606bfb62.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Hawkins Commission bans crypto farms, datacenters](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/business/article_9d9aedd5-3cda-483f-9e93-b5a947051ab5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[6] [Hawkins commission unearthed County Powers Act to ban crypto mines](https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/hawkins-commission-unearthed-county-powers-act-to-ban-crypto-mines/article_95549d15-e563-4b15-8537-ecd533ebfdad.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[7] [Law center offers free services to Hawkins County for data center lawsuit](https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/law-center-offers-free-services-to-hawkins-county-for-data-center-lawsuit/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"ROBBIE","lastname":"PALMER","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"FEjfjIKKPr"},"token":"robbie_palmer"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_7","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":2,"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 Commissioner District 7"}