Tennessee › Rutherford County › Sheriff
3 candidates are tracked for Sheriff on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Kenneth Barrett, Kevin D. Dodds and Rhett Rankin. Candidate information follows official Rutherford County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Open seat: Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh is retiring, per WGNS. Republican primary winner Kenneth Barrett faces two independents. On Rutherford County's August 6, 2026 county general ballot, per the Election Commission's certified sample ballot. County offices are decided at this election; the printed ballot also provides a write-in line. 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.
Rutherford County Sheriff's Office lieutenant with a 28-year career that began at age 20 as a detention officer, spanning patrol, narcotics, interstate crime operations and K9 units, per his campaign site. Won the May Republican primary with 52 percent over Deputy Chief Steve Spence and Trey Mansfield to succeed retiring Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, per WGNS.
2026 priorities
- Servant leadership, per his campaign site
- Accountability, per his campaign site
- Transparency within the Sheriff's Office and community, per his campaign site
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-07.
Campaign site →
Independent candidate in the open-seat race to succeed retiring Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, per the certified ballot and WGNS.
Self-described lifelong Republican running on the independent ticket, per his candidate announcement in the Murfreesboro Post. Prints on the ballot as Rhett Rankin; some coverage refers to him as James Rankin.
