08/09/2026
AUGUST WINS. The map moved.
On August 6, Knox County cast 89,594 ballots in the combined state and federal primary and county general election, compared with 55,837 voters in the comparable August 2022 election. That is an increase of about 60%. Four Democratic wins changed the balance of local power, while several other races became significantly more competitive.
Commissioner Brandon Huckaby flipped County Commission District 3. Republicans held the seat by just 87 votes in 2022. This year, Huckaby won by 812 votes, receiving 54.33% of the vote.
Brandy Jenkins flipped School Board District 9 by 334 votes. Democrats lost that district by just 261 votes in 2022.
Katherine Bike - School Board, District 4 held School Board District 4 for a second straight cycle with 52.85% of the vote. Her margin grew from just 139 votes in 2022 to 776 votes this year.
Breyauna Holloway Knox County Board of Education District 1 Candidate won School Board District 1 with 77.57% of the vote.
Together, those school board results put Democrats in an apparent 5 to 4 majority on the Knox County Board of Education.
There was movement in races we did not win, too.
Beau Hawk for Knox County Mayor received 41,853 votes and 47.53% in the County Mayor race, finishing just 4.94 points behind Betsy Henderson. In 2022, the Republican margin in the mayor race was 10.56 points. This year, it was 4.94 points. That represents a 5.62 point shift toward Democrats.
The ballot totals also tell an important part of the story.
Knox County voters pulled 53,128 Republican primary ballots, 34,851 Democratic primary ballots, and approximately 1,615 general only ballots.
Even if every Democratic primary voter and every general only voter cast their county mayor vote for Beau, his 41,853 votes still leave at least 5,387 votes that had to come from people who pulled a Republican primary ballot.
That means at least 10.1% of all Republican primary voters also voted for Beau Hawk for County Mayor. This is the most conservative estimate possible from the aggregate ballot totals. The actual crossover could be higher.
The countywide commission races moved closer, too.
Katina Sharp for Knox County Commission received 45.15% in County Commission At Large Seat 10, bringing the Republican margin to 5.74 points.
Vivian Shipe for Knox County Commission received 44.33% in County Commission At Large Seat 11, improving on her previous run for the seat and bringing the Republican margin to 7.99 points.
Four races went our way this August. Other margins got much tighter. Turnout grew substantially. Voters crossed traditional ballot lines. Seats that were close four years ago flipped this year.
There is still a lot of work ahead, and Knox County remains competitive terrain that has to be organized year round. But the results on August 6 did not look the same as they did four years ago.
We’re not done. We’re just getting started.
All results and calculations are based on the final unofficial election night count with 102 of 102 precincts reporting and are subject to final confirmation by the Knox County Election Commission. The Republican primary crossover figure is a conservative estimate based on aggregate ballot totals and does not identify how any individual voter voted.
