{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"JEREMY HUGH GWYNNE HAYES","chatgptsummary":"Jeremy Hayes's biography shows experience as a high school department head and coach, demonstrating leadership in community settings. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate prior experience with county budgeting, legislative drafting, or state-mandated continuing education.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJeremy Hugh Gwynne Hayes won the Republican primary for Wilson County Commission District 16 on May 5, 2026, defeating incumbent Diane Weathers 124-83 [1][2]. He faces Democrat Byron Embry in the August 6, 2026 Wilson County general election [1][3].\n\n## Background and education\n\nPer his campaign site, Hayes carries the name of his grandfather, Hugh Gwynne Hayes, and credits his grandparents Gladys Anita Hayes and Hugh Gwynne Hayes with instilling his commitment to community; his children represent the fifth generation of the Hayes family raised on the family farm [3].\n\n## Career\n\nHayes moved from a career in business into education. His campaign site describes him as a history department head and head football coach at \"a local high school,\" saying he chose teaching out of a belief that education \"does not care what you look like, where you are from, nor does it care about your past\" [3]. A Main Street Media of Tennessee report on the primary separately describes him as a teacher, football coach, and track coach [1].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Nelson, Hayes beat incumbents in Wilson County Commission Republican primary, Main Street Media of Tennessee](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/chronicleofmtjuliet/nelson-hayes-beat-incumbents-in-wilson-county-commission-republican-primary/) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Wilson County May 5 primary candidates, Lebanon Democrat](https://www.lebanondemocrat.com/lebanon/wilson-county-may-5-primary-candidates/article_1c729583-8efa-5bb9-bf6d-b169c75f0c2f.html) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Jeremy H.G. Hayes - Educator](https://jeremyhghayes.com/educator) - accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"JEREMY","lastname":"HAYES","middlename":"HUGH GWYNNE","suffix":null,"token":"owoCKLxC4r"},"token":"jeremy_hugh_gwynne_hayes"},{"candidatename":"BYRON EMBRY","chatgptsummary":"Byron Embry's biography shows over fourteen years of team leadership and three years mentoring youth in Wilson County, alongside a Marine Corps background emphasizing discipline. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate experience with county budgeting, legislative drafting, or state-mandated continuing education.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nByron Embry is the Democratic nominee for Wilson County Commission District 16, having run unopposed in the May 5, 2026 primary [1]. He faces Republican Jeremy Hugh Gwynne Hayes in the August 6, 2026 Wilson County general election; Hayes won the Republican nomination by unseating incumbent Diane Weathers in the primary, 124-83 [2][3]. Embry's campaign, \"Let's Be Real and Turn the Page,\" centers on fiscal responsibility, public safety, infrastructure, and youth investment [4].\n\n## Background and education\n\nA U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Embry says the Marine Corps values of \"integrity, discipline, teamwork, and accountability\" guide his approach to public service [4]. His family has lived in Wilson County's District 16 for nearly a decade [4]. For the past three years he has coached and mentored youth at West Wilson [4].\n\n## Career\n\nPer his campaign site, Embry has spent more than 14 years in team-leadership roles in his professional career, describing a \"people first\" management approach, and says he has received workplace leadership awards; the site does not name his employer or industry [4].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Wilson County primary election candidates, Lebanon Democrat](https://www.lebanondemocrat.com/lebanon/wilson-county-primary-election-candidates/article_05932d5b-df06-5bb5-b1a3-b9466bed547b.html) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Nelson, Hayes beat incumbents in Wilson County Commission Republican primary, Main Street Media of Tennessee](https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/chronicleofmtjuliet/nelson-hayes-beat-incumbents-in-wilson-county-commission-republican-primary/) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Wilson County May 5 primary candidates, Lebanon Democrat](https://www.lebanondemocrat.com/lebanon/wilson-county-may-5-primary-candidates/article_1c729583-8efa-5bb9-bf6d-b169c75f0c2f.html) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [Meet Byron Embry - Byron Embry for Wilson County District 16](https://letsb4realandturnthepage.com/meet-byron-embry/) - accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"BYRON","lastname":"EMBRY","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"xePs1WpCUv"},"token":"byron_embry"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_16","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":"Wilson County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.wilsontnvotes.gov/uploads/files/ac1b9fbb90ce60c71fbc5ea6abbf2e120e3f7e11.pdf"},"title":"County Commission District 16"}