2022 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election

The 2022 Knox County mayoral election was held on August 4, 2022, to determine the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. The election was held concurrently with primary elections for various state offices, including the gubernatorial primaries. Incumbent Republican mayor Glenn Jacobs won re-election with 55.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Debbie Helsley.

2022 Knox County mayoral election

← 2018 August 4, 2022 2026 →
Turnout	18.07% [1] 8.24 pp
Candidate Glenn Jacobs Debbie Helsley Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 30,306 24,520 Percentage 55.28% 44.72%
Precinct results State House district results Jacobs:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Helsley:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%      No data
Mayor before election Glenn Jacobs Republican Elected Mayor Glenn Jacobs Republican

As mayor, Jacobs branded himself as a libertarian and opposed COVID-19 restrictions like mask mandates.^[2]

Jacobs massively underperformed compared to his win in 2018, underperforming the most in the city of Knoxville. Voter turnout was extremely low, with only 18.1% of registered voters turning out. Jacob's massive underperformance and the lower voter turnout is mainly due to the fact that Republican Governor Bill Lee ran unopposed in his primary election and his Democratic challenger had a competitive primary.^[3][4] In 2018, local races saw higher voter turnout because all of the primary elections were contested that year.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Glenn Jacobs, incumbent mayor and professional wrestler better known as 'Kane'^[5]

Republican primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Jacobs (incumbent)	24,687	100.00%
Total votes			24,687	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Debbie Helsley, communications worker, and labor union leader^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Bob Fischer, retired delivery driver and activist^[7]
• Tyler Givens, engineer and contractor^[8]

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debbie Helsley	5,921	74.20%
	Democratic	Tyler Givens	1,397	17.51%
	Democratic	Bob Fischer	662	8.30%
Total votes			7,980	100.00%

General election

General election results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Jacobs	30,306	55.28%
	Democratic	Debbie Helsley	24,520	44.72%
	Write-in	Tracy A. Clough (write-in)	1	0.00%
Total votes			54,827	100.00%

See also

• 2022 Tennessee elections
• 2022 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election
• 2022 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election

References

1. "Tennessee Voter Turnout, August 2022" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
2. Gans, Jared (August 5, 2022). "Former WWE star Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs wins second term as mayor in Tennessee county". The Hill. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
3. "Voter turnout is lower than it was 4 years ago in Knox County, but people are still voting". wbir.com. August 4, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
4. "Unofficial Election Results: Knox Co. Mayor Glenn Jacobs reelected; some races see close wins". wbir.com. August 3, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
5. "Who is running? Knox County mayor is on the ballot, but sheriff's race is one to watch". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
6. "May 3rd Republican Primary Mayor" (PDF). Knox County Election Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
7. "Bob Fischer will challenge county mayor - Knox TN Today". www.knoxtntoday.com. January 3, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
8. "Tyler For Knox". www.facebook.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
9. "August 4, 2022 Democratic Primary Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
10. "August 4, 2022 General election" (PDF). Knox County Election Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2022.