The Hamblen County Commission’s makeup, along with a few county offices, have changed for the upcoming legislative cycle as of Tuesday’s primary election night, and the winners of several contested races reflected on their wins and their electoral journey so far.

Crowded into the bottom floor of the Hamblen County Courthouse, candidates, supporters and other spectators waited anxiously for the results to come in, and after the polls closed at 8 p.m. and the votes were counted, the winners were smiling and the air was a little heavier for those who didn’t pull through.

In a race that filled social media with strong opinions, incumbent Chris Cutshaw beat Dr. Dan Parks for the Hamblen County Mayor’s race with 3,810 votes to Parks’ 2,926.

Flanked by family and supporters, Cutshaw expressed gratitude to voters and said he was going to be working for all of Hamblen County citizens.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to continue doing what I believe I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “I am ecstatic, there’s no doubt… we’re grateful for the win, but I really want to thank God for this opportunity. There’s so many people to thank. There were prayers have gone up on my behalf and asking for God’s will to be done. That was it. But that said, moving forward, we’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously. There’s more to do. Our county’s got plenty of challenges in front of it.”

The elected leaders of Hamblen County’s attention will now move more completely to the upcoming 20262027 budget after an election that saw many citizens expressing dissatisfaction with various issues such as increased property taxes and capital spending on the Hamblen County Justice Center. Cutshaw said that he intends to work with anybody who is working to make Hamblen County a better place to live and work, even if there have been disagreements through this past season.

“There was some misinformation (during the election season),” he said, noting earnest conversation provides the opportunity to give context for issues and is better communication than social media posts. “I would welcome anybody to come to my office or contact me. We’ll sit down and we’ll talk. We’ll go over facts. Not just a fact without context; I would love to talk with anybody about facts with context.”

Parks issued a statement on his campaign’s Facebook page.

“While this wasn’t the outcome we hoped for, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and to share my vision for our community,” he said. “This journey has only strengthened my commitment to serving and supporting Hamblen County in any way I can.

“Congratulations to Mr. Cutshaw. I wish him the very best as he continues carrying the responsibility of leading our county forward. Congratulations to everyone who won and will represent Hamblen County as leaders in our community.”

In a three-way race for the Register of Deeds office, Todd Marshall still managed to earn 50.22% of the votes, 3,254 out of 6,480, cast in a contest that saw him beat out candidates Billy Daniel, with 1,802 votes, and Anne Hale, with 1,422 votes.

“First of all, I have to give all the glory to God,” Marshall said. “(I’m grateful for) everybody that helped me — I couldn’t have done it without all my help.

When I first went into this, I told Lisa, ‘Maybe me and you can just do this.’ There would have been no way. People helped me without hesitation. When I asked somebody to help me, they just came right out and helped me.

“It’s been a very humbling experience. I appreciate everybody’s support and the encouragement I got. I’m blessed to have so many people that got involved with me, spread the word for me. It’s been an amazing trip.”

There were several contested County Commission seats and Tuesday’s voting both new and veteran politicians elected.

Hamblen County District 6 saw Joe Spoone secure a seat with 250 votes to Mike Richardson’s 195.

Frank Lane won District 7 with 290 votes against incumbent Kyle Walker and Billy Samuel, with 185 and 254 votes respectively.

“This race feels like it’s been a long, hard road, but it’s all worked out in the end,” Lane said. “You know, I got to meet a lot of people in my district by going door to door and talking to them and it brought a lot of things to light for me. I want to thank everybody that came out and voted — if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here tonight. Hopefully we’ll get things moving in the right direction and take care of some issues that they’re having. I just want to thank everybody that came out and continued to support me.”

District 8 had Mark Johns, with 336 votes, winning over Les Center, with 266 votes.

“I look forward to working with the new commission that’s coming in,” he said. “I think it’ll be a good group to work with. Thanks to all the voters and supporters that turned out — I know numbers were low, but appreciate the ones that did come out and voice their opinion and vote. I appreciate that. Now the work begins.”

Jamie Carden won District 9 with 425 votes versus Kimberly Coffey’s 237.

Matt Stuart won District 11 with 215 votes over the 158 votes of Edward “Jody” Rhines.

“I grew up in District 11; I’m homegrown right here in District 11 (and) I know a lot of people,” he said. “Hamblen County’s been great to me. It’s been wonderful. I love living here.

“I’m just glad the people come out and show me the support. And, I’m glad today was my day. Jody Ryan’s my competitor, he run a good, clean race. I appreciate that… and I’m looking forward to my new adventure in this.”

In a consequential upset, County Commission Chair and incumbent Bobby Haun, with 307 votes, was defeated by Leo Shalhoup, with 330 votes, in District 12.

Shalhoup had been trailing in early voting and District 12 was one of the last to be tallied, making for a somewhat shocking end to the evening.

“Wow,” he said. “It was a long road. Been to over 950 homes. Four months worth. Meeting all my constituents. The first person I need to thank is God and Jesus. The second is my wife (Linda) who helped me and supported me and all my constituents in my district.

“It was quite an experience talking to all the people on their front porch and telling me their concerns, what they’re happy, not happy with.”

An exhausted and noticeably tan from canvassing, Shalhoup said he’s looking forward to gearing up for his swearing in this September.

But before that, he has another plan. “The next three days I’m probably gonna sleep,” he said. “But then, starting to dig into it, learn some more. There’s always room to learn.”

Told he’s jumped into the deep end of the pool, Shaloup said he’s ready.

“That’s OK, I know how to swim.” Haun, while disappointed, expressed gratitude for the votes he received.

“I want to thank everybody that voted for me and supported me for the last eight years,” he said. “I feel like we’ve accomplished some great things. We’ve had to battle through COVID and come out on the other side with a brand new jail that’s going to carry us into the next 50, 75 years. We’re in great shape.

“You know, everybody keeps screaming about, ‘We’re going broke, we’re going broke.’ That’s the farthest thing from the truth. We’re doing well financially.

“And I just think the county citizens did an outstanding job of electing their mayor. They did the right thing there, without a doubt. And I support him 100%. And I’ll help any way I can.”

District 13 saw Tim Horner retain his seat with a vote total of 247 vs 176 votes for Gwendolyn Holden and 112 votes for Joe Downs, Jr.

Scott Depew won the District 14 seat from incumbent Edna Greene, 390 votes to 216.

“I’m happy,” Depew said. “I was concerned (about) getting in it and doing the work. I really appreciate the end result. (I’m grateful for) the people that have come up that I’ve talked to and have messaged me, wanted signs. It’s pretty overwhelming. Today is the day. I’m glad it’s here.”

All other county districts were uncontested. These commissioners include: Tom Hyde in District 1, Debbie A’Hearn in District 2, Wayne NeSmith in District 4, Mike Reed in District 5 and Stan Harville in District 10.

Uncontested Democratic candidates won 3 seats in their primary: Joyce Cotner in District 3, Allen Brooks in District 10 and Bryant Frankford in District 12.

The next elections will be August 6. Primary elections will be held for Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Tennessee Senate (odd-numbered districts), Tennessee House, and Republican and Democratic State Executive Committees. General elections will be held for vacant state judicial offices and applicable county offices.

Of all the county-wide, uncontested offices Sheriff Chad Mullins brought in the most votes with 6,165.

“I think we’ve come a long ways in the last four years with moving into the new jail and SROs,” he said. “We’ve still got a long ways to go. I look forward to the next four years.”