In today’s hyper-competitive political arena, moments of genuine selflessness are about as common as a snow day in July. Yet last week, former State Senator Stacey Campfield delivered exactly that kind of moment.
When the filing deadline closed on Tuesday, March 10, Campfield had officially entered the race to replace retiring Lt. Governor Randy McNally. The August 6, 2026 primary was shaping up as a marquee matchup: Campfield and former State Representative Jimmy Matlock battling in the Republican primary, with Anderson County School Board Member David Miller running on the Democratic side.
Then, just three days later—on Friday, March 13—everything changed.
Campfield took to social media and announced he was withdrawing from the race entirely. Instead of clinging to personal ambition, he threw his full support behind Jimmy Matlock.
Both men are rock-solid conservative Republicans who have long championed the same core principles. What makes Campfield’s move stand out is how rare it truly is. In an era when politicians routinely put ego and self-interest first, he chose principle over power, standards over selfishness, and unity over ego. That kind of gesture doesn’t happen often in modern politics—and when it does, it deserves to be recognized.
Here is what Campfield posted:
When Randy Mcnally announced he was not running for re-election, many of my longtime friends and supporters contacted me saying how desperate the district and the area was for good, conservative leadership. I was honored by the friendship, loyalty and offers to help me in this campaign. With their concerns in mind and only a short time before the filing deadline, I agreed to pick up a petition to run for office.
As many of you know, Jimmy Matlock is a longtime community leader known for integrity, fair dealings and solid conservative, Christian beliefs. When he came to the legislature, he brought that same character with him and we cut our teeth working together in the fight for good conservative government.
Jimmy and I are longtime friends and Honestly, I couldn’t think of an issue where we differ. After we had both qualified to run for office, As friends, we sat down and I conveyed my issues of concern for the district. Again, there wasn’t a blade of grass of difference In our points of view.
While there are many politicians that you cannot trust, That meeting reconfirmed my belief that I could trust Jimmy to work for the good of senate district five.
Knowing that the district will be represented by someone of such good character and conservative beliefs set me at ease to the point that I’m removing my name from consideration and throwing one hundred percent of my support behind my long time good friend Jimmy Matlock.
