If money is the mother’s milk of politics, the first round of Knox County campaign finance reports offers a pretty clear look at who’s well-fed, who’s still grocery shopping, and who just walked into the kitchen.

Let’s start with the judicial side.

Mike Hammond, Knox County Criminal Court Clerk first elected in 2014, is running for his fourth four-year term in 2026. His latest report shows $7,450.79 on hand coming into the period, $951.55 raised, $7,445.15 spent, leaving $957.19 cash on hand. Hammond is officially kicking off his campaign with an event February 24, 5–7 p.m. at Holston Hills Country Club—a clear signal he’s shifting from maintenance mode to campaign mode.

Charlie Susano, Knox County Circuit Court Clerk first elected in 2018 and now seeking his third term, reported $2,105.81 on hand, $4,250 raised, $2,213.48 spent, and $4,142.33 remaining. Not a monster war chest, but steady and respectable for this stage.

The most eye-catching numbers on the clerk side belong to Sherry Witt. Witt has served more than a decade in county government—Register of Deeds from 2007–2018 and County Clerk from 2018–2026—and is now seat-hopping back to Register of Deeds. If unchallenged and successful, she remains one of only three Registers since 1980—and could stretch that record to 54 years with two more terms. Financially, she went from $0 on 9/26/2025 to $39,789.81 raised, $3,473.96 spent, and $36,315.85 on hand as of January 15, 2026. That includes $1,500 in-kind from Mike Chase of Copper Cellar for an October fundraiser and a $10,764.81 transfer from her County Clerk account into the new Register campaign. Translation: she’s serious, and she’s funded.

On the other side, Richie Beeler—another seat-hopper, currently Chief Deputy to Witt and former County Commissioner—reported $11,097.77 on hand coming in, $9,310.50 raised, $18,277.67 spent, leaving $2,130.60. Also in the County Clerk race are Rodney Lane, former Operations Manager for about 16 years, and former Property Assessor John Whitehead—both so new that no disclosure is required yet.

Now to the always-lively Knox County Sheriff’s race:

• David Amburn (since 1/1/2026): $28,850 raised, $5,006.95 spent, $23,843.05 on hand, with a $5,000 loan and $8,519.83 in obligations.

• Michael Davis (since 7/30/2025): $30,568.87 raised, $17,440.93 spent, $13,127.94 on hand, plus a $25,000 loan.

• Brent Gibson (since 7/1/2025): started with $5,985.33, raised $36,860, spent $22,315.60, now sitting on $30,529.93—quietly one of the stronger positions financially.

• Jimmy “J.J.” Jones: raised $23,700, spent $11,295, with $12,405 on hand, including a $10,000 loan.

• And for the record, Matt Evans is NOT a candidate—but his report shows $3,480 raised and spent, zero on hand, including $3,100 on a website and $380 to Smoky Mountain Strategies.

In General Sessions Judge, Division IV, the money gap is already clear.

Judge Andrea Kline (since 12/8/2025) has $76,136.88 raised, $21,846.10 spent, and $54,290.78 on hand, plus a $23,000 loan.

Challenger Commissioner Rhonda Lee (since 12/17/2025) reported $20,808.13 raised, $1,205.79 spent, and $19,602.34 on hand, including a $9,453.70 transfer from her commission account. Strong start—but Kline is clearly out front in cash.

In the Knox County Commission, Third District, Chair Gina Oster started July 1, 2025 with $1,454.12, raised $42,282.14, spent $5,504.05, and now holds $38,232.21. Her challenger (since July 11, 2025) has $19,174.65 raised, $7,461.22 spent, and $11,713.43 on hand—not insignificant, but still a sizable gap.

Over in the Seventh District Republican primary:

• Barry Beeler (since 11/17/2025) raised $14,108.15, spent $3,352.37, and has $10,755.78 on hand.

• Buddy Burkhardt, former GOP chair, raised $4,897, spent $11, and sits at $4,886 with $183.08 in-kind.

• Justin Mash, former Young Republicans chairman, raised $6,852.40, spent $2,401.28, has $4,451.12 on hand, plus a $5,000 loan and $546.77 in-kind.

Bottom line: some races are already shaping up as money mismatches, others are just warming up, and a few candidates are clearly still finding their footing.

And yes—tomorrow evening I’ll roll out the numbers for County Commission At-Large Seats 10 & 11and the County Mayor’s race. To our friends at the daily paper: catch up if you can. 😉