Jim Vincent
Jim Vincent announced Tuesday night at the Rhea County Commission meeting that he is not seeking re-election to the county's top post.
County Executive Vincent, in a surprise move, endorsed State Rep. Ron Travis (R-Dayton) to replace him.
The election will not be until Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. Candidates will run non-partisan in the county general election.
Mr.
Vincent has served as county executive since April of 2022 when he was appointed by the County Commission to replace then County Executive George Thacker after he resigned due to legal problems.
Mr. Vincent, who at one time served on the Hamilton County Commission and was in the state Legislature, went on to win the office outright in the August 2022 election defeating six other candidates.
With the announcement of Rep. Travis running for the top county seat, only one other, Adam McRorie, has announced intentions to run. Mr. McRorie ran in 2022 - losing to Mr. Vincent by 390 votes.
Candidates are eligible to pick up petitons Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, and have them turned into the Election Commission Office no later than noon on Tuesday, March 10.
Mr. Travis has been the longtime state representative for District 31, which, since 2018, includes Rhea, Bledsoe, Sequatchie and Van Buren counties.
He has served 12 years. He first ran for office in 2012 defeating incumbent Jim Cobb by a narrow margin and then in a 2014 rematch defeated Mr. Cobb by a two to one margin.
During his time in the General Assembly, he has served as chairman of the business subcommittee, chairman of the Joint Fiscal Review Committee as well as serving on the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee, House Insurance and Banking Committee, Health Committee, Judiciary Committee, and on Transportation Committee.
Prior to becoming a legislator, he owned and worked for Nationwide Mutual Insurance for 27 years.
In making his announcement, Mr. Vincent said,”I love my job. I truly do. I love serving the people of Rhea County.”
Mr. Vincent said his family has been in Rhea County for the past five generations.
He said, “I have a lot of friends in Nashville as does Ron. He will do a good job. I was relieved when he came to me while I was thinking about running again and said that he was interested in the job.
“It was just perfect timing in making the decision.”
Mr. Vincent pointed out that in his first 100 days he was most proud of getting fiber optics for the county.
“Second would be the $4.9 million dollar from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) grant to make improvements to the water districts infrastructure in tne north end of the county and $2.5 million for expansion of Dayton’s sewer system out Highway 30.”
Mr. Vincent was instrumental in obtaining a Tennessee College of Applied Technology on the Able property that was jointly owned by Dayton and the county. Not only was Mr. Vincent involved with the project, so was Rep. Travis.
Rep. Travis said during his 14 years in the State Legislature the TCAT school was one of his biggest highlights of his career.
He said, “It was an honor to serve and give back to the people not only in Rhea County, but Bledsoe and the other counties as well. When the kids go inside and learn their trade, its going to be remarkable whats going to happen.”
Ron Travis