Multiple candidates for the 2026 Wilson County elections have picked up petitions to run for office.
Positions up for election include County Mayor; all 25 County Commissioner seats; Trustee; Sheriff; Circuit Court Clerk; County Clerk; Register of Deeds; Wilson County Board of Education zones 2, 4 and 6; Lebanon Special School District zones 1, 2 and 4; and Constable for zones 1-4.
For county positions, candidates must be a qualified voter and resident within the county for one year prior to the election. For representing positions such as a school board member or county commissioner, candidates must live in the district they would represent. A petition to appear on the ballot must be turned in with at least 25 signatures from registered Wilson County voters.
The Wilson County Election Commission says several petitions have been picked up for multiple positions.
For County Mayor, Gayle Hellemn is petitioning to run against incumbent Randall Hutto, both Republicans.
Richie Mercado is running for County Commissioner District 1 as a Democrat. For District 2, Richard Brown is seeking reelection as a Republican, and Robert Moxley is running as a Democrat.
Republican Bobby Franklin is so far unopposed in the race for District 3.
For District 4, Amy Lane is running as a Republican.
Jerry McFarland is seeking reelection for District 5 as a Republican; meanwhile Cody Kroyer picked up a petition to run as a Democrat.
District 6, as of writing, only has Jaime Littrell seeking election as a Democrat.
For District 7, the Election Commission says Danita Meeks picked up a petition to run as a Democrat and Michael Swope is listed as both Republican and Independent.
Jacob Berry picked up a petition to run as a Democrat for District 8, and Kevin Costley is seeking reelection as a Republican.
Blake Hall is unopposed so far in seeking reelection for District 9 as a Republican.
So far, only Samuel McNaron has picked up a petition to run as a Democrat for the District 10 seat.
Three people are currently filling out petitions to run for District 11. Dan Walker and Adris Ferguson both are seeking to run as Republicans, and Courtney Nyange is seeking to run as a Democrat.
Haskell Evans is currently unopposed for the District 12 seat, running as a Republican.
District 13 has competition between two Republicans, incumbent Jeremony Hobbs and Luke Mires.
Incumbent Tommy Jones is unopposed for District 14. He is running as a Republican.
For District 15, Deja Neal picked up a petition to run as a Democrat.
Diane Weathers is seeking reelection for District 16 and is facing competition from Jeremy Hugh Gwynne Hayes, both running as Republicans. Meanwhile, a petition was picked up by Byron Embry to run as a Democrat.
Similarly, more interest is seen for the District 17 seat. James 鈥淩usty鈥 Keith is seeking reelection as a Republican and potentially faces competition from Belita McMurry-Fite and Kim Prozeller as Democrats.
Over in District 18, incumbent Republican Lauren Breeze is seeking the seat again, and Rick Howard Jr. picked up a petition to run as a Democrat.
District 19 may have three-party competition. Incumbent Republican William Glover may face off against Yomeka Robinson on the Democrat ticket and Aiden Pratt seeking to run as an Independent.
Republican Glenn Denton picked up a petition for reelection and may have an opponent in Aaron Wilson, seeking to run as a Democrat.
For District 21, incumbent Mike Kurtz is running for reelection as a Republican with Shatena Cowan as a prospective Democrat opponent.
Wendell Marlowe is seeking reelection in District 22 as a Republican, while Lesley Farmer picked up a petition to run as a Democrat.
Incumbent Jeremy Reich, Republican, and Natalie Flores, Democrat, are filling out petitions to run for District 23.
Three people are running for District 24. Incumbent Republican Danny Clark may face Aarika Baxter, running as a Democrat, and Keilonda McCathern, running as an Independent.
Finally, for County Commission District 25, incumbent Justin Smith is seeking reelection as a Republican and Derrick Jobe has picked up a petition to run as a Democrat.
For Sheriff, Robert Byran is seeking reelection. Other offices include County Trustee, with Kenneth Hackett running; Debbie Moss for Circuit Court Clerk; Jim Goodall for County Clerk; Jackie Murphy for Register of Deeds. Constables for Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 are being sought after by Jacob Austin, Robert Young, Briand Bishop and Jenny Lenning respectively.
Wilson County Board of Education Zone 2 has two potential candidates: Melissa Granstaff and Elisha Marie Horn-Johnson, both seeking nomination to the Democratic ticket.
Joseph Padilla is seeking reelection for School Board Zone 4 as a Republican, and he faces competition from Democrat Michael Lynch.
School Board Zone 6 currently has two prospective candidates. Don Mahaney picked up a petition to run as a Republican and Pam Sieffert is seeking to run as a Democrat.
Finally, for Lebanon Special School District Zone 1, Jessie Hall is seeking to run as a Democrat. Vana Brewer picked up a petition to run for Zone 2 as a Democrat, and Tammy LaPoint is looking to run for Zone 4 as a Democrat.
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