Chancellor Kimberly Lund has announced her candidacy for reelection to the 19th Judicial District Chancery Court in the May 5 Republican primary, according to Main Street Clarksville. Lund is a former field agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and has more than two decades of legal experience. She earned her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law and began her career in private practice with the Kennedy Law Firm before serving as assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and as a field agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. She also served in the Office of the District Attorney for 18 years. She was appointed the chancery court in 2024.

Former NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore has notified the Tennessee secretary of state his intention to run for governor, WBIR reports. He has until March 10 at noon to officially file. Wilmore would join the Republican race alongside U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Rep. John Rose of Cookeville and state Rep. Monty Fritts of Kingston. A Tennessee native, Wilmore is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He was a test pilot before becoming an astronaut in 2000, and spent 25 years with NASA before retiring in August.

Three candidates for Knox County General Session Court, Division 6, judge recently were profiled by Knox TN Today. The candidates — Andrea Kline and Rhonda Lee on the Republican ballot and Ben Houston II as the sole Democratic candidate — share their views on why they want to serve on the bench, what their top three priorities are for the court, how they will make good use of taxpayer money and more. The primary will be held May 5. The winners will face off in the general election on Aug. 6.

The Shelby County Election Commission approved a list of candidates for the May 5 Democratic and Republican county primary elections during its meeting last week with several key court clerk races drawing multiple contenders. Jamita E. Swearengen, the current circuit court clerk, is running unopposed for reelection. Juvenile Court Clerk Janeen Gordon, a Democrat, faces two challengers in the primary, with no Republican candidate qualifying. Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn is not eligible for reelection due to term limits and instead is seeking the county mayor’s office, leaving a field of five Democrats — Rheunte E. Benson, Lawrence Denton Jr., Wanda Halbert, Carla Stotts and Joe Towns Jr. — and one Republican, Edquardo Jamison, to compete for her seat. Probate Court Clerk Eddie Jones, also a Democrat, is up for reelection and faces challenger William Chism Jr. No Republican entered that race. Read more about the candidates in the Commercial Appeal.

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has pulled a qualifying petition to run for a third term even though the county charter limits her to two consecutive terms. The Daily Memphian raises the possibility that Halbert's action might forecast a challenge to those limits, which have been in place since 2010. According to the paper, Halbert also picked up qualifying petitions for the May 5 Democratic primary for county trustee and criminal court clerk. The deadline to file qualifying petitions for the primary is Feb. 19. If Halbert files a petition for county clerk, the Shelby County Election Commission will determine her eligibility and could seek guidance from the Tennessee coordinator of elections if a legal challenge arises.

Longtime Shelby County Democratic state representative John DeBerry, who served in the state legislature from 1995 to 2020, has announced his candidacy for Shelby County mayor in the Republican primary. “What folks want is basic,” he told Action News 5. “They want safe streets. They want good schools. They want to be able to take care of their families, and I think that’s not Democrat or Republican … that’s American.“ DeBerry, who currently serves as a special advisor to Gov. Bill Lee, joins Davis Henson and Gerald Kiner in vying for the Republican nomination. At least eight people have filed to run as Democrats. The countywide primary is May 5. After the May primary, Shelby County voters will return for the county general and statewide primary on Aug. 6 and the state and federal general election on Nov. 3.

Davidson County voters will decide three judicial primary races May 5 as recently appointed judges seek to retain their seats against challengers, the Nashville Banner reports. The contests include Criminal Court Division III, Circuit Court Division III and General Sessions Court Division VI, all filled in late 2025 after retirements, with appointees Jim Todd and Bethany Glandorf selected by Gov. Bill Lee and Jodie Bell appointed by Metro Council. Todd, the Criminal Court incumbent, faces challengers Dawn Deaner, a longtime public defender, and former assistant district attorney Ron Dowdy, while Glandorf, who oversees family law matters in Circuit Court, is challenged by Audrey Anderson, Corletra Mance and Tusca Alexis. In the General Sessions race, Bell, a defense attorney, will run against magistrate Michael Robinson. According to the Banner, several challengers previously applied for the same vacancies but were not selected, setting up primaries that will determine who serves the remainder of the judges’ eight-year terms.

A third Democratic candidate has emerged for state House District 59, which sits along the southern edges of Davidson County. Beth West, a Democratic Party organizer and former nonprofit executive, joins Rick Ewing and Mark Proctor in seeking the seat being vacated by Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville. Republican Bill Hancock also is running in the Aug. 6 primary according to the Nashville Banner. West says the 2022 court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the 2023 Covenant School shooting motivated her to get involved in politics.

Just six weeks after the special election to fill a Middle Tennessee congressional district vacated by Mark Green, candidates already have begun picking up petitions to run when the term expires in November. State Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, who ran in the Democratic primary for the special election, is the latest candidate to pick up a petition. He joins Democrat Joshua Warren Sales and independent Teresa Christie. Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, who was the Democratic nominee in the special election has announced she would not run again. Rep. Matt Van Epps, who won the special election, has filed his signed petition to seek re-election. The Nashville Banner reports on the race.

Candidates for Tennessee governor have begun collecting signatures for nominating petitions, formally launching the race ahead of the Aug. 6 primaries and the November election to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee. At least a dozen candidates have declared, including Republicans Marsha Blackburn, John Rose and Monty Fritts; Democrats Carnita Atwater and Jerri Green; and independent Lauren Pinkston. Petitions are due March 10. The Tennessean reports on the candidates.

In state legislative races, the Daily Memphian reports that six of the 13 House incumbents from Shelby County picked up qualifying petitions on Friday. They are: Democrats Larry Miller, Gabby Salinas and Torrey Harris, along with Republicans Mark White, John Gillespie and Kevin Vaughan. Two incumbent state senators from Shelby County — Democrat London Lamar and Republican Brent Taylor — also picked up qualifying petitions. In East Tennessee, according to Local 3 News, Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, has announced he will seek reelection in District 28 and Sevierville Republicans Reps. Fred Atchley and Andrew Farmer also will run for reelection. In Cocke County, Republicans Kenny Cody, Jeff Fanger and Michelle Lane, Democrat Sheila McMahan and Independent Larry Brown have announced their intentions to run for a seat being vacated by Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. In District 20, Democrat Karen Gertz is running against incumbent Rep. Tom Stinnett, R-Friendsville. In Knoxville, Democratic Reps. Sam McKenzie and Gloria Johnson picked up petitions to run for reelection, as did Republican incumbents Reps. Dave Wright, Justin Lafferty and Jason Zachary. In District 18, Elliot Schuchardt picked up a petition to challenge incumbent Rep. Elaine Davis in the Republican primary. And for the Knox County Senate seat, Kent Morrell picked up a petition to challenge incumbent Rep. Richard Briggs in the Republican primary. WBIR has more on the races.