A large number of candidates met the filing deadline to become candidates for a variety of offices that will appear on the ballot come August.
The August election will serve as the general election for Carter County offices as well as the party primary elections for state and federal offices.
On the local ticket, four members of the Carter County Board of Education are up for election. Those positions do not run on a party system so they appear on the general election ballot without the candidates first competing in a primary election.
The board seats that will be up for grabs are those representing the county’s 1st, 4th, 6th and 8th Districts.
In the 1st District, incumbent Craig Davis will face a challenge from Noel Church.
Rusty Barnett, who currently serves as the chairman of the Board of Education is running unopposed to return to his seat for the 4th District.
Three candidates will face off for the 6th District seat as challengers Steve Chambers and Jesse James will try to oust incumbent Kelly Crain.
Current 8th District board member Ronnie McAmis has decided not to seek re-election for another term. Jerry Stout will be running unopposed to replace McAmis.
Some county residents will also be casting ballots to fill two unexpired terms of office — one for an 8th District seat on the Carter County Commission and the other for a constable position in the 7th District.
Two candidates will face off for the 8th District County Commission seat — Kelly Collins and Rick Richardson.
On the candidate side, Kenneth Potter is running unopposed. Potter is currently serving as a constable for the 7th District following his appointment to the post by the Carter County Commission after the resignation of the previous constable Seth Babb. Potter was appointed to serve in that capacity until the election could be held and must now run in the election to secure the position until the end of the term in 2018.
On the state portion of the ballot, all of the seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives are up for election this year.
Carter County is a divided county when it comes to the Tennessee House of Representatives with some residents falling in the House 3rd District and others falling in the House 4th District.
In the House 3rd District, State Rep. Timothy Hill will run unopposed for the Republican primary in August, but will face challenger Gary Kawula, who is running as an Independent candidate, in the November state general election.
State Rep. John Holsclaw, who represents House 4th District, will face two challengers for the Republican nomination as both Jeffrey Jackson, of Elizabethton, and Tim Lingerfelt, of Erwin, qualified as candidates.
No candidates filed to run in the Democrat primary for either the 3rd or 4th District House seats.
Earlier this year, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who currently represents a portion of Carter County in the Tennessee Senate’s 4th District, announced he would not seek re-election, a decision that caught many of his colleagues and constituents by surprise.
Four candidates have qualified to replace the retiring Ramsey in the Tennessee Senate —John Paul Blevins, of Blountville; Neal Kerney, of Kingsport; Jon Lundberg, of Bristol; and Tony Shipley, of Kingsport.
The Tennessee Senate seat for the 3rd District, which is currently held by Sen. Rusty Crowe, is not up for election this year.
On the federal level, the U.S. House of Representatives seat for the 1st Congressional District of Tennessee is up for election this year.
The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, a Republican from Johnson City. Roe will face one challenger for the Republican nomination for his seat —Clint Tribble of Knoxville.
Alan Bohms, of Mohawk, was the only candidate to qualify on the Democrat primary for the U.S. House seat for the 1st Congressional District.
In November, the Republican and Democrat nominees will face off with each other as well as Independent candidate Robert D. Franklin, of Elizabethton, to capture the seat in Congress.
The last day residents can register to vote and be eligible to participate in the August state and federal primary elections and the county general election is July 5.
Early voting for the August election will be held from July 15-30 at the Carter County Election Commission Office.
Election day will be August 4 with voting on that day being held in the individual precincts throughout the county.
For more information on the election or to register to vote please contact the Carter County Election Commission by telephone at 423-542-1822 or in person at the Election Commission Office, located at 116 Holston Ave., Elizabethton, across from the Carter County Health Department.