August 5, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Its not often that an incumbent officeholder loses a primary but that is what happened to 40th District State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver Thursday.
Smithville businessman Michael Hale secured the Republican nomination for the office in a decisive win over the 14 year veteran state lawmaker. Weaver was defeated district wide 6,696 to 4,542 and she will leave office when her term is completed. Hale will face Tom Cook, the Democratic nominee , in the November 8th Tennessee General Election. Cook, a resident of the Silver Point community of DeKalb County was unopposed in the Tennessee Democratic Primary on Thursday.
Weaver lost every county in the district but her home county of Smith and it was even close there at 1,678 to 1,534. Hale won DeKalb, his home county, with 2,392 votes compared to 1,152 for Weaver. Hale also carried Jackson County 1,175 to 722; Cannon 1,422 to 830; and Wilson 173 to 160.
Cook, the Democratic nominee, received 1,464 votes in the district including 504 in DeKalb County.