Tennessee › Knox County › Knox County Mayor
2 candidates are tracked for Knox County Mayor on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Betsy Henderson and Beau Hawk. Candidate information follows official Knox County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Partisan race on Knox County's August 6, 2026 county general election ballot, per the Election Commission's certified candidate list. RESULTS ARE IN: this race was decided on August 6, 2026. Totals from the county Election Commission are unofficial until the county canvass, due no later than Monday, August 24 (Tenn. Code 2-8-101); Tennessee has no automatic recount. The sitting mayor is term-limited, so this is an open seat.
Betsy Henderson chairs the Knox County Board of Education, where she has served two one-year terms as chair, and previously worked in U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan's office, per local election reporting. She won the May Republican primary and is the certified Republican candidate for the open county mayor's seat on the August 6, 2026 ballot.
2026 priorities
- Keeping taxes low
- Roads and infrastructure
- Strong schools
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-07.
Campaign site →
Beau Hawk is the president of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council, per local election reporting. He is the certified Democratic candidate for the open county mayor's seat on the August 6, 2026 ballot.
