Juvenile Court Magistrate Judge Mitzi H. Pollard has announced her candidacy for Shelby County Circuit Court Division 3. She received her law degree in 2001 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Pollard was a sole practitioner for more than 12 years, focusing on mediation, juvenile and family law, and advocating for vulnerable children and working families. She was appointed magistrate judge by Judge Dan Michael in 2015 and reappointed in 2022 by Judge Tarik Sugarmon. Pollard says in a statement that throughout her legal career, she has "remained deeply committed to public service, professional excellence and the fair and impartial administration of justice. My candidacy is rooted in a desire to continue that service on the Circuit Court bench — ensuring that every litigant is treated with dignity, that the law is applied faithfully and that our courts remain accessible, efficient and trusted by the community." Learn more at www.pollardforjudge.com.

Memphis attorney Jahari Dowdy has announced her candidacy for Shelby County Criminal Court judge in Division 1. Dowdy, a graduate of Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, has two decades of experience in criminal law and is the owner of the Law Office of J.M. Dowdy PLLC. Her practice has included representing clients in both state and federal courts, handling cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious violent felonies. Dowdy said her work has focused on thorough case investigations, careful review of evidence and maintaining clear communication with clients and their families. Her courtroom experience includes jury and bench trials, as well as suppression, bail and preliminary hearings. Read more in a press release or visit her campaign website.

Two Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives — Elizabeth Stephens of Nashville, who is running in the 5th Congressional District, and Jacob Anders of Tullahoma, who is running in the 4th Congressional District — are suing the Tennessee Democratic Party after being disqualified from their primaries. The two candidates argue that the party’s appeal hearing procedures were unfair and failed to provide due process. They are seeking a temporary restraining order to ensure their names appear on the August ballot. The Nashville Banner reports on the development.

Magistrate Shayla Purifoy has announced her campaign for judge on the Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court, Division 2. Purifoy graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and joined Memphis Area Legal Services as a staff attorney in the civil Domestic Violence and Family Law Unit. In 2016, she was appointed to the magistrate judge role, where she hears criminal and civil matters. Purifoy was president of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association in 2020 and remains involved in community groups and local and statewide legal organizations. Purifoy says she will use the General Sessions position to promote understanding in the judiciary through community outreach. She also pledges to run a fair and efficient courtroom for all those who come before her. Read more in a press release or visit her campaign website.

Nashville attorney and former Metro Nashville Public Defender (PD) Dawn Deaner has announced her candidacy for Division III Criminal Court judge. Deaner, who has nearly 30 years of experience in Nashville’s criminal courts, said she is running to bring “experience, perspective, and humanity” to the bench. She served as public defender from 2008 to 2018, where she led reforms such as implementing workload controls, launching a Court Watch program and advancing pretrial release efforts. Prior to that role, she worked for more than a decade as an assistant public defender. Deaner also founded the Choosing Justice Initiative, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to justice, and has been involved in efforts such as the Nashville Community Bail Fund and the Steering Clear Driver’s License Diversion Program. Read more in a press release.

Morristown attorney Aaron Chapman has announced his candidacy for the newly-vacant 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court seat resulting from Gov. Bill Lee’s appointment of William Phillips II to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Election Day is Aug. 6. (Due to timing of the vacancy, there will be no Republican primary this year.) Chapman says his focus will be continuing to ensure that the circuit court is future-ready, stating, “We must think ahead, think about each other and take our task seriously. Our court system plays a vital role in protecting our future. The work we do now will be seen well into the next century and beyond.” A graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, Chapman is a member of the TBA's Board of Governors and a longtime delegate to TBA's House of Delegates. He is the founder of Lakeway Family Law in Morristown. Read more in a press release.

Sean R. Aiello, Middle Tennessee governor on the TBA Board of Governors and immediate past president of the TBA's Young Lawyers Division, has announced his reelection campaign for Williamson County Commission to serve District 11 during the 2026-2030 term. He currently serves as vice chair on the commission and recently introduced legislation forming a new County Task Force to study the needs of the county courthouse and explore potential expansion or relocation. Aiello is managing partner for Schell & Oglesby in Franklin. Election day for the county primary is May 5. More information about his campaign can be found at www.seanraiello.com.

If you are a Tennessee-licensed attorney running for office this year, please let TBA know so we can share your news. While higher profile races get news coverage that we cover, many races will not make it into press reports. TBA Today wants to highlight lawyers making a difference in their communities through public service. To get your race covered, send an announcement of your candidacy and a head shot to tbatoday@tnbar.org. And if you are a candidate this cycle, TBA has resources to help you run an ethical campaign. Check out sessions from The Ethical Campaign CLE now available on demand as a 1-Click package or as individual programs.

Tennessee Republicans have asked election officials to exclude 40 candidates from the primary ballot in August, according to the Nashville Banner. The list of names includes former legislative aide Cade Cothren, who is seeking to challenge Rep. Kip Capley, R-Summertown. Cothren ran afoul of the party by donating to Democratic Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin J. Pearson of Memphis. Cothren reportedly donated $100 to each representative after they were ousted from the House in 2023 for their involvement in gun safety protests. Cothren was convicted, and then pardoned, in a public corruption trial alongside former House Speaker Glen Casada.

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office has released the full lists of candidates for 2026 federal and state elections following closure of the filing deadline. In the race to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee, 11 candidates (six in the Democratic primary and five in the Republican primary) filed to run. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Bill Hagerty is running for reelection and faces no primary challenger. Five Democrats are running to earn the nomination to face him in the general election while eight Independents also filed for the seat. In the U.S. House, all nine Tennessee seats will be on the 2026 ballot. Six will see primary races. For state legislative races, all 99 seats in the House and 17 in the Senate will be up this year. Of note, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, decided not to run in District 7, the Nashville Banner reports, and no candidate will appear on the District 93 primary ballot after incumbent Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, failed to obtain enough signatures. That will force candidates to mount a “write in” campaign, the Commercial Appeal reports. See all lists of candidates on the secretary of state’s website.