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.

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.