By Tabitha Evans Moore
Editor & Publisher

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — It’s 7 p.m. in Lynchburg on Election Night and the polls along Main Street as well as the public library, high school, and Motlow State have just closed. Folks already gather near the southwest end of the square near the gazebo. A nearby Mexican restaurant seems to be the preferred pre-game spot — interested parties fill every table and there’s a line out the door.

Several candidates set up tents and serve snacks.

Back at the gazebo sit two large dry erase boards. The vertical one lists the names of the Metro Council candidates, while a horizontal one contains the races for mayor, sheriff, and county clerk as well as several uncontested races.

Around 7:30 p.m. results start coming in. Locals Robyn LaCook and her husband, John, make the short walk from the gazebo to the Moore County Elections Commission offices to retrieve the early and absentee voting results. They return moments later with a long, white receipt tape and carefully transfer the numbers to the board. She writes and he double checks, then they stand aside as the few hundred folks gathered on Election Day take a look. Many snap photos and dispatch them like their own digital phone tree. I’m positioned front and center posting live results as they come in. This is how Lynchburg does Election Day.

Early voting tells the story

Traditionally, early voting tells the story here in Moore County and that truism holds on Thursday in the two major races for mayor and sheriff.

The early totals show incumbent mayor Sloan Stewart besting challenger Keith Moses 750 to 450 — a 62 percent margin. When all’s said and done, Stewart wins 1,218 to 741 with 62 percent of the vote.

Incumbent sheriff Tyler Hatfield also came out on top of challenger William Raline in early voting 964 to 245 — an 80 percent margin. Ultimately, Hatfield wins 1,570 to 417 — a 79 percent margin.

District 2 and District 3 roll in next.

Newcomer Payton Keller earns a District 2 Metro Council seat with 201 votes. Incumbent Douglas Carson and Robert Bracewell join him. In an every-vote-counts moment, Bracewell narrowly edged out Jenny Gold Sandler by just six votes.

In District 3, there will be two new representatives: John Oosting, the top candidate with 234 votes, and Jayson Estfon with 208. Voters send Dexter Golden back for another term with 220 votes.

District 1 rolls in next. Incumbent Sunny Rae Moorehead beats newcomer Jerry Burks Jr. 193 to 149. Moorehead took over the seat midterm after Darrell Richards resigned.

District 5 comes in next and decides the last of the open Metro Council seats. All three incumbents chose not to seek re-election, so there will be an entirely new cast of characters — Brady Goodwin 241, Brandon Ross 145, and Regina Adcock 136.

Incumbent Lacey Ivey retains her job at the County Clerk’s office over challenger Kelly Woods Harrison 1,172 to 819.

Missing from the boards entirely was District 3 School Board member Greg Thompson, who ran unopposed — the board wasn’t posted for his race.

By around 9 p.m., the whole affair is done. Winners linger to celebrate and thank the public, while the losers make their way to their vehicles. It’s hard to put yourself out there and campaigning isn’t easy. None of them should hang their heads.

By 10 p.m. the white boards are stored safely away for next year and the last person to leave gets the lights. This is how we do Election Night in Lynchburg, Tennessee. •

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