Election Aftermath

An exciting evening Thursday night for those watching the Knox County Sheriff's race. As the early numbers came in, it appeared challenger Randy Tyree might actually pull off the upset.
By around 9 o'clock Tyree was within striking distance, only about 500 votes separating him and Sheriff Tim Hutchison. In fact, at that point, more people had voted for Tyree on election day than Hutchison. Only the early vote total kept Tyree from leading.
But that was the highlight of Tyree's evening. By just after 10 o'clock, the mostly Republican west Knox County subdivisions and their votes began rolling in, and Sheriff Hutchison's lead grew...eventually winning by more than 2600 votes.
Four years ago, the sheriff won by a similar margin over challenger Jim Andrews. It was those same west Knox County neighborhoods that put him over the top.
A tough night for Republican incumbent County Commissioner David Collins. He was defeated by Democrat Mark Harmon, who used the term limit issue against Collins. Harmon will be an interesting addition to Commission.
So will Greg "Lumpy" Lambert. Lambert knocked off Margaret Massey-Cox easily to win a seat on Commission. Lambert best known for his opposition to Mayor Ragsdale's Wheel Tax increase.
These are just a few quick observations of election day. Tune in this Sunday at noon for Tennessee This Week.. I'm assembling a panel of political pundits to talk about the county races and the equally interesting state-wide races coming up this fall.