Jeff Harmon has announced that he is seeking reelection as the 12th Judicial District public defender, the Herald News reports. Harmon began his legal career as an assistant public defender in 1992, and was appointed public defender in 2011. He has since been elected twice to the position, which serves Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie counties, and has served as president of the 12th Judicial District Bar Association and the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. Harmon says he is seeking one final term before retirement.

Gov. Bill Lee’s chief of staff Blake Harris will leave the office to work on Lee’s reelection and other Republican campaigns after the first of the year, the Nashville Post reports. Harris was a strategist on Lee’s successful 2018 campaign and executive director of his transition team. Replacing him will be Joseph Williams, currently director of the governor’s Office of External Affairs. Deputy Chief of Staff Alec Richardson will add the position of director of external affairs to his portfolio.

State Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, will be vacating his seat in the state legislature to run for circuit court judge in the 24th Judicial District, The Paris Post-Intelligencer reports. Griffey announced the decision to seek the position held by Judge Donald Parish yesterday. Parish is retiring at the end of his current term next year. Griffey was elected in 2018 to the 75th House District, which includes Henry, Benton and Stewart counties. He previously served as an assistant district attorney and an assistant Tennessee attorney general. Two other candidates, Vance Dennis of Savannah and Terry Leonard of Camden, also have announced their candidacies to fill Parish's spot.

Judge Robert Bateman has announced he will run on the Republican ticket to keep his seat on the 19th Judicial District’s Circuit Court, Division IV, Main Street Clarksville reports. Bateman was appointed to the position by Gov. Bill Lee in August, filling the vacancy created when Judge Jill Bartee Ayers joined the Court of Criminal Appeals. Prior to Bateman’s appointment, he practiced at Clarksville’s Bateman & Bateman where he handled numerous criminal and civil matters in General Sessions, Chancery and Circuit courts across the state. He also handled appeals in the Tennessee Supreme Court, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

Tennessee state Rep. Mark Hall, R-Cleveland, has announced his intention to run for the state Senate seat of retiring Sen. Mike Bell, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The District 9 seat represents Polk, McMinn, Meigs and Monroe counties. Others considering a run for the seat include former Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson, who also served as a state representative for eight years and as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Before election to the House, he also served as a Bradley County commissioner for more than a dozen years. Yahoo News has the article.

State Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, a former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, announced today that he will retire when his term ends next year. The move will leave the District 63 House seat open without an incumbent for the first time in two decades, News Channel 5 reports. Casada, who has held the seat since 2001, resigned the speakership in 2019 after reports surfaced of racist and sexually explicit text messages between him and a former aide. 

Benton County attorney Terry Leonard has announced his intention to run for one of two 24th Judicial District Circuit Court seats, The Paris Post-Intelligencer reports. Leonard is seeking the Republican nomination for the Division 2 seat currently occupied by Judge Donald Parish, who is set to retire at the end of the term. Leonard earned his law degree in 1986 from the Nashville School of Law. According to his campaign, he has practiced both civil and criminal defense law in 40 of Tennessee’s 96 counties. In addition to his legal practice, Leonard is a small business owner and farmer.

Jefferson County General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Dennis “Will” Roach II has announced he is seeking another term. Roach was initially elected to the position in 2014 and during his time on the bench has played a vital role in developing the county’s Safe Baby Court program, which aims to help struggling parents get back on their feet and to help babies in the foster care system get back to a permanent home. “It would be an incredible honor to be re-elected so that I may continue to serve Jefferson County for the next eight years," Roach said in an email.

Vance Dennis, assistant district attorney for the 24th Judicial District, this week announced he will be vying for the Republican nomination in the district’s Circuit Court judge race, the Paris Post-Intelligencer reports. Dennis, a Hardin County native, was partner at McGee and Dennis for more than 10 years before eventually becoming the county’s chief prosecutor. He also previously served as state representative for the 71st District from 2008 until 2014. “Having been both in private practice and serving our community as a prosecutor, I am committed to following the law and ensuring fairness in the courtroom,” Dennis said of his candidacy. The 24th Judicial District includes Hardin, Henry, Benton, Carroll and Decatur counties.

The 16th Judicial District Circuit and Chancery court judges have announced they will each be running for reelection in 2022. Judges J. Mark Rogers, Jimmy Turner, Barry Tidwell, B. Jo Atwood, Darrell Scarlett and Chancellor Howard Wilson currently serve in the 16th Judicial District, which covers Rutherford and Cannon counties. “As judges, they are dedicated to the administration of justice and committed to upholding our laws and constitution,” a press release from the campaign says. Read the press release for more information on each judge.