{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"ERIC CRADDOCK","chatgptsummary":"Eric Craddock's biography shows fifteen years in the Sumner County Sheriff's Office, including service as chief deputy and interim sheriff since August 2024. He has publicly addressed jail operations, hiring, school safety, and budget requests for employee raises. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate prior elected office experience or specific training in constitutional search-and-seizure standards.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nEric Craddock is the Sumner County Sheriff, seeking election to a full term in the Aug. 6, 2026 general election. A native of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Craddock had served 15 years in the Sumner County Sheriff's Office, most recently as chief deputy, before the county commission unanimously appointed him interim sheriff on Aug. 28, 2024, following the death of Sheriff Sonny Weatherford [1].\n\n## Career\nAs sheriff, Craddock has spoken publicly about departmental hiring, jail operations and school safety issues [2], and in 2025 he asked the county commission to restore \"step raises\" for sheriff's office employees in the 2026 budget [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] Main Street Media of Tennessee, \"Sumner County Commission names Craddock interim sheriff,\" Aug. 28, 2024, https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetnashville/sumner-county-commission-names-craddock-interim-sheriff\n[2] Main Street Media of Tennessee, \"Sheriff Craddock on new hires, jail and school issues,\" Oct. 30, 2024\n[3] Main Street Media of Tennessee, \"Sumner sheriff asks to have step raises restored to 2026 budget,\" July 10, 2025","firstname":"ERIC","lastname":"CRADDOCK","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"E9XM3XKSOZ"},"token":"eric_craddock"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"sheriff","o.office":null,"office":"sheriff","officedescription":"The sheriff is the county's chief law-enforcement officer. The office operates the county jail, provides court security, serves civil process and executes warrants, and provides patrol and investigation \u2014 a large operational command with a substantial budget.","officequalities":"- Organizational leadership of a sheriff's office spanning patrol, investigations, court services, and the county jail.\n- Oversight of the county jail, including intake, inmate health, and release procedures.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee criminal law, court process, and constitutional search-and-seizure standards.\n- Ability to develop and oversee the office's operating budget with public accountability.\n- Coordination with municipal police departments and neighboring-county and state agencies.\n- A documented law-enforcement or public-safety background.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Sheriff","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-19","title":"sumner County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.votesumnertn.org/uploads/files/b131fe1092a6465a92a366ccaf28782e09dcabe8.pdf"},"title":"Sheriff"}