A changing of the guard is taking place in Cocke County.

Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis lost in the Republican Primary, 3733-2724 to Joe Shults. Because there was no qualified Democrats in the primary, Shults will be the next Cocke County Mayor.

Shalee McClure won the County Clerk primary with 3,670 votes to Danielle Moore Smith’s 2,709.

In the road superintendent’s race, Dwayne “Bullet” McCallister garnered 3,384 votes to defeat opponent Kenneth Ford, who had 2,976 votes. Kristy L. Nease took the Circuit Court Clerk primary. Nease received 3,991 votes surpassing Jennifer E. Arms’ 2,022 votes