The Warren County Republican Party (WCRP) has already chosen its nominee for County Property Assessor in next year’s August elections. The party chose Jeff T. McGee via its first county-wide caucus on Nov. 11 at the Milner Recreation Center. There were exactly 19 bona fide Republican voters who participated in the caucus and voted to nominate McGee.
“Hypothetically, there could be a ton of reasons for choosing a caucus over a primary,” explained Warren County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Stotts on his party’s decision to use the caucus method. “Our party decided to try something different. The party’s ten-member board voted on holding a caucus for this nomination and approved it. To be clear, this isn’t a permanent change to the way we will select nominees, far from it.” For future elections, the party will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to use a caucus or the more traditional primary.
One of the advantages of selecting a nomination by caucus instead of a primary is the party gets to know early-on who their nominee is. “Instead of having to wait three to four months for the primary, we know who our candidate is now and can better navigate a campaign,” explained Stotts.
Stotts has been a member of the WCRP for eight years, party chairman for a year and a half. “The local party worked hand-in-hand with representatives from the Tennessee State Republican Party to organize this caucus and to help us vet bona fide Republicans.”
According to Warren County Administrator of Elections Susie Davenport, a caucus is closed to only bona fide members of the party conducting it. “They screen the voters according to party rules. After the party chooses their nominee to wear the party badge in the general election, they submit that name, and the name of any others who sought their nomination in the caucus, to the Election Commission.”
The requirement to be deemed a bona fide party member for this caucus was proof of having voted Republican in at least three of the last four state primaries. Stotts says the State Republican Party provided them ahead of time a link to access these records. He said everyone that came to the caucus met the requirements and the State Republican Party representative was present to ensure voters were vetted properly.
Warren County’s current Assessor of Property is Beth Martin. She plans to run for re-election as an independent this year. This will be Martin’s fourth term if re-elected. In 2019, Martin was awarded the Three Star Certification before the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers. McGee ran against Martin in 2020 losing by approximately 600 to 700 votes.
The Warren County Democratic Party and independent candidates have until Dec. 14 at noon to qualify for the March primary. The election for Property Assessor will be Aug. 1.
