Bowling wins big in primary
Matt Tuck beats incumbent; Lynch, Long hold off challenges
The May 3 Primary is over.
Two Republican incumbent judges lost their chances to run in the General Election in August, while county officeholders facing a challenge all won.
No Democrats were on a Primary Election ballot.
“It was kinda crazy,” Victoria Bowling said after defeating Judge Don Layton in the Republican Primary.
“I was a little disappointed in the turnout,” she said. “You can have a lot of people telling you they support you, but they have to get out and vote.”
There were 6,698 ballots cast in the May 3 primary. There are 47,348 registered voters in Anderson County.
Bowling said she “knocked on about 5,000 doors,” during her campaign.
Bowling took in 3,496 ballots to Judge Layton’s 2,635.
Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk Rex Lynch was also surprised by the voter turnout.
Lynch won his primary, beating challenger Lewis Ridenour 3,302 to 2,818.
“You’d think having county offices on the ballot, and a couple of judgeships would draw people out, but it didn’t work that way,” Lynch said.
“Still, any time you win an election, it’s a plus.”
Ridenour did well in Andersonville and Norris and took all the Oak Ridge precincts.
Anderson County Road Superintendent Gary Long won handily against his primary challenger Brian Hutson, 4,054 to 1,991.
In the General Sessions Judge Division 2 contest, Matt Tuck won a narrow victory over Judge Roger Miller, 2,914 to 2,900.
In the Anderson County Commission races in the Republican primary:
• District 1
Tyler Mays, 377
Rodney Jennings, 332
Harold Edwards, 242
Ray Hagan, 242
• District 2
Michael Foster, 574
Denise Palmer, 534
Kim Meredith, 510
Stephen Day, 153
• District 3
Shelly Vandagriff, 908
Lindsay Smith, 726
Charles Irwin, 437
• District 4
Tim Isbel, 531
Amy Jones, 337
• District 5
Jerry White, 463
Robert McKamey, 421
• District 6
Steve Mead, 208
Anthony Allen, 192
• District 7
Sabra Beauchamp, 255
Steven Poppick, 254
• District 8
Jake Martin, 354
Myra Mansfield, 318
The top two vote-getters in districts with more than two Republican candidates will be on the ballot in the August General Election.