Top Republican stumps for Knox County mayor candidate Larsen Jay

Top Republican stumps for Knox County mayor candidate Larsen Jay

The Key is a forward-looking column on how to get involved in local politics.

Allie Feinberg

Knoxville News Sentinel

Updated Aug. 11, 2025, 1:46 p.m. ET

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton is the star guest at an event this week to endorse Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay, who is running for Knox County mayor in 2026.

The dinner, car show and concert is from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 14 at Lakeshore Park. Those who wish to attend (donations are welcome but not required, the invite says) can RSVP at larsenjay.com/speakerbbqevent.

Jay is running to replace Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who is term-limited.

Knox County Board of Education chair Betsy Henderson, the only other candidate in the GOP primary, hasn't announced endorsements. Campaign manager Zach Wishart told Knox News those will be announced in the future.

No Democratic candidates have entered the race.

When's the election? The mayoral GOP and Democratic primaries are May 5 and the general election is Aug. 6, 2026.

Study up: You can read about Henderson on her website, betsyhenderson.com, and Jay on his website, larsenjay.com.

Want to help get out the Knoxville vote?

CivicTN and partners including the Tennessee Democracy Network, Organize Tennessee, the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition Votes, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the American Muslim Advisory Council, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, and others are hosting trainings and events to help get out the vote in Knoxville.

The Knoxville City Council primary election is Aug. 26, and early voting is open now.

What you can do: CivicTN's efforts include making phone calls and texts to voters and celebration events "all designed to equip volunteers with the tools and confidence to reach voters where they are," according to a release.

An important note: Brandon Jones, a spokesperson for CivicTN, said the efforts aren't associated with specific candidates. They are designed to encourage people to vote.

To register: Go to CivicTN.org and click the "events tab." Choose the event you want to go to and sign up!

The events:

Aug. 13

• Virtual volunteer training at 5:30 p.m.
• Virtual phone banking at 6 p.m.

Aug. 15

• Canvassing from 3-5:30 p.m. Meet at Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, 201 3rd Ave.
• Virtual phone banking at 6 p.m.

Aug. 19

• Virtual text banking at 6 p.m.

Aug. 26 (Primary Election Day)

• Virtual texting training at 9:30 a.m.
• Virtual texting action at 10 a.m.
• Virtual phone banking at 1 p.m.

Knox County Ethics Committee will meet

The Knox County Ethics Committee has a regularly scheduled meeting at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 13 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building, 400 Main St. in Knoxville.

The committee doesn't have a posted agenda, but it could vote to discuss the Aug. 7 official misconduct charge against Knox County Property Assessor Phil Ballard and the conclusions of the state comptroller's report into Ballard, Trustee Justin Biggs and former trustee's office employee Jason Dobbins if two-thirds of committee members decide to take it up.

5 things you might have missed

Here are some news highlights from last week:

Hayden Dunbar wrote about Cal Johnson's legacy

Keenan Thomas reported the Knox County school board opted not to ask legislature replace lost federal dollars

I explained a possibility for why Sen. Marsha Blackburn waited son long to announce her run for governor

Allison Kiehl wrote about how much money you need to buy a house in Knoxville

Diana Leyva wrote about increasing electricity rates

Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie