Guide to the 2022 state and county primary election

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Table of Contents

At NOOGAtoday, we aim to cover local elections in a way that educates and activates our community with unbiased information to encourage individual voter participation. (I.e. vote for whoever + whatever you want to, just make sure to vote.) To learn more, check out our Editorial Ethics Policy.

Next week, early voting for state and county primary election will begin. To make this election as easy as possible, we’ve curated need-to-know information about how and where to vote + those who are running opposed in the primaries.

Need to know your voting registration status before you get into the thick of it? Find that here.

🗳️ Important dates

  • Early voting for primary election | Wed., April 13-Thurs., April 28
  • State and county primary election | Tues., May 3
  • Absentee ballot request deadline for primary election | Tues., April 26 | Request here
  • State and county general election | Thurs., Aug. 4

🗳️ Applicable county offices + state judicial offices

The following positions have at least two people running for office. Those running unopposed in the primary election are not listed. Find all current positions in the election here.


    • Circuit Court Judge, Division 2
    • Criminal Court Judge, Division 3
    • District Attorney, Republican
    • County Mayor, Republican
    • County Commissioner, Districts 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11
    • County School Board, Districts 6, 8, 9, 10
    • Chattanooga Judge Division 1

Want to know exactly who your choices are for the election? Head here + fill out the requested information for a sample ballot based on your district, with all of the potential candidates on the ballot of your choice — Republican or Democratic.

🗳️ Early voting

There are currently six early voting sites in Hamilton County. You can vote at any of these locations during the early voting period, through April 28:

  • Election Commission | Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 700 River Terminal Rd.
  • Hixson Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 5401 School Dr.
  • Brainerd Rec Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. | 1010 N. Moore Rd.
  • Hwy 58 Volunteer Fire Training Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 9108 Snow Hill Rd.
  • Collegedale City Hall | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 4910 Swinyar Dr.
  • Soddy Daisy Community Center | Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. + Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 190 Depot St.

🗳️ Election Day polling

Find your polling place with this voter information tool. Once you enter the information, your polling place will be located a few rows down.

If you are waiting until Election Day to vote, the address you are given using the tool above is where you must be in order to vote (by law, in fact).

🗳️ Who’s running opposed?

Circuit Court Judge, Division 2

Mike Dumitru (R), Jim Exum (R)

Criminal Court Judge, Division 3

Amanda Dunn (R), Boyd Patterson (R), Rebecca J. Stern (R)

District Attorney

Neal Pinkston (R), Coty Wamp (R)

(John Allen Brooks will run unopposed as a Democratic candidate in the primaries.)

County Mayor

Matt Hullander (R), Sabrena D. Smedley (R), Weston Wamp (R)

(Matt Adams will run unopposed as a Democratic candidate in the primaries.)

County Commissioner, District 1

Randy Fairbanks (R), Gene-O Shipley (R), Stacy Swallows (R)

County Commissioner, District 3

Justin Holland (R), Greg Martin (R)

County Commissioner, District 5

Greg Beck (D), Phylicia Blackmon (D), Nathaniel Doss III (D), Mike Greer (D)

County Commissioner, District 8

Mike Chauncey (R), Tucker McClendon (R)

County Commissioner, District 10

Jeffrey W Eversole (R), Dean Moorhouse (R)

County Commissioner, District 11

Montrell Besley (D), Sean Nix (D) (Molly Blankenship recently withdrew from the race)

(Joseph Graham will run unopposed as a Republican candidate in the primaries.)

County School Board, District 6

Jon Baker (R), Cindy Fain (R), Delores Gross Vinson (R)

(Ben Connor will run unopposed as a Democratic candidate in the primaries.)

County School Board, District 8

Katie Perkins (D), Sandy Norris Smith (D)

(Larry Grohn will run unopposed as a Republican candidate in the primaries.)

County School Board, District 9

Gary Kuehn (R), Tate Smith (R), James B. Walker (R)

County School Board, District 10

Roddey Coe (R), Patrick Lee (R), Faye Robinson (R)

(Jeff P. Crim will run unopposed as a Democratic candidate in the primaries + Christine A. Essex will run as an Independent.)

Chattanooga Judge Div. 1

Brian Bush, Sherry Paty

** We tried our best to include links to the candidate’s election website or election Facebook/Instagram account. If those were unavailable, we tried to find a link including the most information. If you know of a better link that represents any of the above candidates, please let us know.

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