The bitter campaign between Bill Hagerty and Dr. Manny Sethi came to an end Thursday night in a landslide victory for the Trump-backed former ambassador to Japan.
In Tipton County, Hagerty brought in 70.7 percent of votes to Sethi’s 15.8. Dr. George Flinn was a distant third with 9 percent. Hagerty is now the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate race in November.
“Thank you to the Republican voters of Tennessee. I’m honored and humbled to have the support of so many Christian conservatives across our great state. I also want to thank my Lord and Savior – through Him all things are possible,” said Hagerty. “I’m also grateful for the ‘complete and total’ support of President Trump, as well as Vice President Pence, Senator Blackburn and so many conservatives who agree that we need more Trump conservatives in the United States Senate. Now more than ever, we need strong conservative Senators who will not kowtow to the angry liberal mob that is tearing apart the fabric of the America we love. President Trump won’t stand for it, and neither will I. In the Senate, I will stand with President Trump and Senator Blackburn to support our law enforcement officers, defend the right to life by defunding Planned Parenthood, confirm constitutionalist judges and protect our Tennessee conservative values. Again, I am humbled by your strong support and I will continue to fight every day to be your United States Senator.”
Tom Emerson Jr., from Brighton, earned 32 votes in Tipton County in that primary.
In the Democratic primary for the same seat, Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis took Tipton County with 41.7 percent of the vote. Robin Kimbrough had 20.7 and James Mackler 18.7 percent of votes. Bradshaw pulled off an upset to win the nomination.
U.S. House of Representatives, Dist. 8
Incumbent Rep. David Kustoff ran unopposed for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives District 8 seat.
In Tipton County, Erika Stotts Pearson won 52.7 percent of votes. Savannah Williamson had 23.5 and Lawrence A Pivnick 17.2 percent.
Tennessee Senate, Dist. 32
Incumbent Paul Rose (R-Covington) defeated challenger Scott Throckmorton, a military veteran from Shelby County, with 89.6 percent of votes. Rose was first elected to the seat in March 2019.
Though he won in Tipton County, his district also encompasses parts of Shelby County’s suburbs as well. Those results had not yet been reported at press time.
If he wins, will face Democrat Julie Byrd Ashworth, an attorney who splits her time between Munford and Collierville. Byrd Ashworth ran unopposed in her primary.
Uncontested races
From here, there were no other contested races.
Rep. Debra Moody (R-Covington), who was elected to office in 2012, will again run unopposed for Tennessee House of Representatives (Dist. 81).
Assessor of Property Rose Cousar and school board members Isaiah Davidson (Dist. 1), Jimmy “Marty” Burlison (Dist. 3), Farrel Vincent (Dist. 5), Alvis Ferrell (Dist. 7) and Laurie McClerkin (Dist. 9) remain in office.
Voter turnout
Voter turnout – and turnout for campaign workers, too – was low for this election.
Only 7,797 voters of the county’s 36,979 registered voters showed up in-person or by mail to vote. The election commission reports 4,535 were early votes, 323 were paper absentee ballots and 2,939 votes came in today.
Only Paul Rose had tents set up at polling locations today, with 1-3 volunteers manning tents at seven of the county’s nine locations.
What’s next?
In November, we’ll vote for president, U.S. and state legislators and local mayors and aldermen.
The filing deadline for the municipal elections is on Aug. 20, which is two weeks away.
For more information, see https://tiptonco.com/election_commission/index.php.
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