County Mayor
August 6, 2026 · Knox County, Tennessee · County · general
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: Low · 11 out of 100
This district is large for its type, so each vote is a smaller slice of the outcome. About 494,148 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(919,173 ÷ 494,148) ÷ ln(919,173 ÷ 5,079) = 11.94, comparing counties in TN (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
Low representation + unknown decisiveness → Below average vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
County Executive is responsible for:
- Running county government day to day, like a mayor for the county
- Proposing the county budget
- Overseeing county departments and hiring their leaders
- Hearing certain court cases in some Texas counties, where this office is called County Judge or County Judge/Executive
Affected Areas: Environment and Public Health, Government Efficiency, Healthcare Affordability, Government Spending Reduction, Public Safety and Crime Control, Housing Affordability, Social Programs and Welfare, Public Infrastructure
Candidates
Beau Hawk
Democratic · declared
Beau Hawk is the Democratic candidate for Knox County Mayor. He is a union ironworker and president of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council, representing more than 30 unions in the region.
Betsy Henderson
Republican · declared
Betsy Henderson is the Republican candidate for Knox County Mayor and serves on the Knox County Board of Education. She is seeking to succeed term-limited County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
Election sources
Source: knoxcounty.org
Source: knoxcounty.org