Candidates in Tennessee who intend to run on the Republican ticket in the upcoming May 5 county primary, Aug. 6 state primary and county general elections may be surprised to discover the Republican Party won’t allow them on the ballot unless they are a “bona fide Republican.”
The qualifying deadline is Feb. 19 at noon.
Cumberland County Road Superintendent Stanley Hall, the incumbent Republican, was notified Monday by Tennessee Republican 15th Senatorial District State Committeewoman Linda Clark that he will not be permitted or qualify to appear on the Cumberland County Republican Party ballot.
“I was shocked. I’m still shocked and baffled. I’m the elected, incumbent Republican road superintendent. How can I not be qualified?” Hall said.
He was elected in 2022 and prior to that ran on the Cumberland County Republican ticket numerous times.
“I am fully qualified under the laws of the state of Tennessee to serve in this office. I filed my intent to run for reelection in 2026 in good faith and in accordance with state requirements,” Hall said.
He said he plans to run instead as an independent.
“I don’t really have a choice. I have been a registered voter for 44 years. I am a Republican and have been for years,” he said.
At its Dec. 6, 2025 meeting, the Tennessee State Executive Republican Party amended its bylaws and decided to enforce requirements for being a “bona fide Republican.”
According to the bylaws, “… any individual seeking election as a Republican candidate for public office must be a ‘bona fide Republican.’ The burden of proving to the Tennessee Republican Party that an individual meets its membership requirements is on the prospective candidate. … a ‘bona fide Republican’ is defined as an individual who is actively involved in the Tennessee Republican Party, the county Republican Party of the county in which the individual resides, or a TRP-recognized auxiliary organization, is registered to vote in the above-noted county; and who has voted in at least three (3) of the four (4) most recent statewide Republican primary elections in which he is eligible to vote.”
Hall said he missed voting in one of the primaries in 2022 due to illness. He said he could file an appeal with the Republican Party, but a decision might not be made until after the Feb. 19 qualifying deadline.
“Then I’d be out. So, I have decided to run as an independent,” Hall said.
County Commission 4th District candidate Jonathan Miller also planned to run as a Republican in the May primary. He filed his paperwork Jan. 12.
“After hearing about Stanley, I went into the election commission office to check my voting record, and they told me I wouldn’t qualify. So, I’m backing out as a Republican and starting over as an independent. I have to get all new signatures as an independent. I’ve always been a Republican and have voted since 2008 in primaries. This is the first year you have to declare a party for county commission. I was caught off guard. It should be based on your history,” Miller said.
He noted that in 2024 in the August state primary election there was less than 10% participation of registered Cumberland County voters.
“That would eliminate a lot of people right there,” Miller said.
Other county commission and school board candidates like Wendell Houston, 3rd District county commission; and Rolf Weeks, 1st District BOE, have also had to change and start their campaigns over as independents.
Clark said the rules have been in place for nine years. Prior to this a challenge would have to be filed by three Republican voters in a candidate’s district to determine if a candidate qualified as a bona fide Republican. She said what is different is that the committee is automatically checking the voting background of each candidate from school board to governor.
Voting records in primaries are open records, but only so far as to which party a person voted — not specific candidate choices.
“This is in no way related to just Cumberland County. It is across the state,” Clark said.
She said candidates who do not qualify will be notified by a letter from the state executive committee but was unsure of when that would be.
“It’s an unknown and so I am contacting all of the candidates in the 15th District who filed as a Republican, but do not qualify, so they can know before the Feb. 19 qualifying deadline,” Clark said. “They should have the opportunity to get another petition. It’s only fair to let people know.”
Clark said at this point there is a total of 56 candidates who have filed papers as a Republican but do not qualify in the six-county 15th District.
The 15th Senatorial District includes Cumberland, Putnam, White, Jackson, Smith and Van Buren counties.
“Most of them are in Putnam and Cumberland County,” she said.
Clark said she didn’t know for sure how many candidates did not qualify in Cumberland County.
She said there are ways for a candidate to apply for a waiver from the Tennessee Republican Party. One would be if the candidate was too young to have voted in three of the four previous state primaries. The second way was if they had voted in another state prior to coming to Tennessee. In that case the candidate would need to supply their voting record from the previous location.
Cumberland County Administrator of Elections Jill Davis said the election commission will not contact candidates to let them know if they qualify for a political party.
“That is not our place to contact candidates. If a candidate is unsure if they will meet a party’s requirements, then they should contact us and check their voting record,” Davis said. “We will help them out as much as we can.”
Clark also encouraged potential Republican candidates to check their voting records to determine if they meet the requirements.
Candidates running as independents will be on the Aug. 6 County General Election ballot and will not appear on the May 5 county primary ballot.