Betsy Henderson cruised past Larsen Jay and Kim Frazier to win Tuesday’s Republican primary race for Knox County mayor.

Henderson said her campaign's ground game made the difference.

Henderson, who ran on a no-tax-increase platform, garnered 44.73 percent of the vote. Jay’s well-funded campaign came in second with 31.15 percent, and Frazier wound up with 24.12 percent. 

At the GOP Election Night gathering at the Crowne Plaza, Henderson said her campaign was about the taxpayers of Knox County. “As Republicans, we believe that when government gets out of the way, families and small businesses thrive.”

She said Knox County can be a “beacon of freedom,” and thanked her opponents, Jay and Frazier, saying, “Every time someone puts their name on the ballot, it is a testament to democracy.”

Election Night featured some extremely close races, a few with surprisingly wide victory margins, ousted incumbents and a decided shift to the right within the GOP. Most of the action was in the Republican primary, but the only contested Democratic seat produced drama.

Incumbents had a rough night. Trustee Justin Biggs, school board Chair Kristi Kristy, school board member Rev. John Butler and County Commissioner Gina Oster lost to challengers.

Margins in some races were razor thin. Oster lost to Sheri Super in the District 3 County Commission race by just 11 votes. Challenger Bill Scofield defeated incumbent school board Chair Kristi Kristy by 65 votes out of 3,987 cast.

According to preliminary numbers, turnout was 21.23 percent — 55,995 of 263,707 registered voters.

Many Republicans at the Crowne Plaza were surprised by Henderson’s 13.6-point margin of victory in the mayor’s race, especially given Jay’s fundraising advantage. Jay spent a staggering $198,641 during March, more than twice Henderson’s $89,545 spending tab.

Henderson credited her campaign team for putting together a strong ground game. “The people of Knox County spoke,” she said.

Henderson will face Democrat Beau Hawk in the general election.

In the sheriff’s race, which was essentially decided in the Republican primary since no Democrats are running for the office, retired Knox County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team commander Brent Gibson finished first in a four-person race with 44.14 percent of the vote.

GOP sheriff candidate Brent Gibson. (Gerald Witt photo.)

“We’re gonna make a plan, and I’ll make that from here to there,” Gibson told enthusiastic Republicans at the Crowne Plaza. “I’ve already got kind of a way to go, but we need to … improve the benefits for our officers, of course. There’s a lot of things that we can do right away to help.”

David Amburn, KCSO’s chief of detectives, came in a distant second with 30.16 percent, despite having the endorsement of term-limited Sheriff Tom Spangler. Mike Davis (14.1 percent) and former Sheriff Jimmy “JJ” Jones (11.5 percent) rounded out the field.

No Democrats submitted petitions to run for sheriff, so Gibson will be unopposed in the general election.

Nick McBride, the current Knox County Register of Deeds, knocked off incumbent Justin Biggs, 48.2 percent to 34.6 percent. Barry Hawkins came in third with 17.2 percent of the vote.

Biggs was vulnerable because his office had been embroiled in a controversy over the improper use of vehicles and extravagant spending on travel. McBride focused on his record as register of deeds and thanked his mentor, Sherry Witt (who is unopposed in her bid to return to the Register of Deeds Office).

McBride, who faces Democrat Stephen Hood in the general election, is turning his political attention to helping his fellow Republicans win. “I look forward to the days to come. We’ve got a lot to do, and we need to work hard and elect all Republicans.”

Richie Beeler, a former County Commissioner who is running for Knox County clerk, will also be unopposed in the general election. He amassed 43.25 percent of the vote in easily outdistancing three opponents — former Property Assessor John Whitehead (25.28 percent), former Trustee John Duncan III (24.17 percent) and Rodney Lane (7.3 percent). 

Beeler said Tuesday that he plans to spend the upcoming months rolling out self-service kiosks for residents to access county clerk services.

In the race for General Sessions Court judge, Judge Andrea Kline, who has been filling the seat on an interim basis since Jan. 1, defeated County Commissioner Rhonda Lee by 6 percentage points. She will face Democratic attorney Ben H. Houston II in the general election.

(Our coverage of the school board races can be found here, while our report on County Commission contests can be found here.)

Knox County GOP Chair Martin Daniel said he was surprised by margins in the races for mayor and sheriff, and he noted that the outcomes show the party growing more conservative.

“It appears the party is moving to the right,” he said. “Overdevelopment was a big issue, (and) taxes obviously. Henderson ran on a no-tax platform, and that resonated with voters.”

CORRECTION: Story has been corrected to note that Nick McBride faces Democrat Stephen Hood in the general election for trustee.