There is a reason this country still gathers at courthouses and fire halls to mark an X beside a name. The founders did not build a republic so that power would simply pass by inheritance or force. They built one so that it would pass by ballot, argued over and settled by neighbors, county by county, precinct by precinct. Thursday, Maury County did what it has done since the General Assembly established this county on November 16, 1807: it showed up, it voted, and it decided.

Here is what the county's unofficial results, 22 of 22 precincts reporting, tell us about where things stand.

County Mayor: Butt Holds the Seat

The marquee local race was decided outright. Incumbent County Mayor Sheila Butt, a Republican, defeated independent challenger Gabe Howard, 9,403 votes to 7,331, securing another term. It was a clear win, not a landslide, and it means the direction Butt has set for the county, from economic development wins to the water and growth questions dominating recent headlines, will continue under her leadership.

A Congressman Loses His Own Backyard

The night's biggest story, though, played out on a bigger stage. In the Republican primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher unseated incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles districtwide. But the local wrinkle is what stings: Ogles, a former Maury County Mayor, lost his own home county too, 4,831 to 4,624. When a hometown candidate cannot hold his own courthouse square, that is a result worth sitting with.

On the Democratic side, Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder made no such mistake at home. He carried Maury County decisively, taking 2,167 of the 2,960 Democratic primary votes cast here, about 73 percent, well ahead of his nearest rival. Molder now advances to face Hatcher in November, in a district redrawn this cycle to stretch from the Williamson County suburbs down through West Tennessee into Memphis. It will be a very different race than the one Maury County is used to watching.

Governor, Down the Ballot, and the Closest Race in the County

Maury County Republicans backed Sen. Marsha Blackburn for governor, 5,448 votes to Rep. John Rose's 4,282 and state Rep. Monty Fritts' 2,986, and that preference held up statewide. Blackburn won the Republican nomination for governor across Tennessee, setting up her run in November to succeed term-limited Gov. Bill Lee. On the Democratic side, Memphis Councilmember Jerri Green led the county's Democratic voters with 2,971 votes.

State House District 64 stayed in Republican hands, with incumbent Scott Cepicky winning his primary outright and advancing to a November general election against Democrat Craig D'Apolito.

Several county offices were decided without contest, including Sheriff Bucky L. Rowland, County Trustee Randy McNeece, County Clerk Joe H. Allen, Register of Deeds John Fleming, and Circuit Court Clerk Sandy D. McLain.

And for readers who like a close finish: the tightest race on the entire ballot was County Commission District 8, where the second of two open seats came down to six votes. Steven Burford edged out Missy Smith Phillips, 827 to 821, with both winning seats over third-place finisher Andreas Eastep. Six votes. In a county of this size, that is as close as democracy gets, and it is a good reminder that every ballot really does count.

Tennessee does not make its appellate judges run against an opponent. Instead, every eight years, voters are simply asked whether each judge should keep the seat, a straight yes-or-no retention vote. Maury County voters answered yes on every judge on this year's ballot, from the state Supreme Court down through the Court of Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals, keeping the state's current bench intact.

These results remain unofficial until certified by the Election Commission. For full results, every race, every precinct, visit the Maury County Election Commission at maurycounty-tn.gov/227/Election-Commission.

A ballot cast means nothing if the office it fills is not then held to account. Scripture tells us that the civil magistrate is a servant of God for our good, one who does not bear the sword in vain. It is worth praying for every man and woman elected this week, winners and losers alike, that they would govern with justice and not for gain, that they would punish what is evil and reward what is good, that they would deal honestly with the people who trusted them with this authority, and that they would remember the oaths they swore, before this county and before God, long after the votes have been counted and forgotten.

Source: Maury County Election Commission, unofficial results, Aug. 6, 2026.