Other Candidates
Profiles of the long-shot, grassroots, and independent candidates running in the 2026 Tennessee governor's race. None are expected to be competitive, but every candidate who files deserves coverage.
Republican Primary
CP
Cito Pellegra
Cito Pellegra of Arlington (Shelby County) has filed to run in the Republican primary for governor. Beyond that filing, almost nothing is publicly known about this candidate.
Pellegra has not completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, has no campaign website, no social media presence, no campaign finance reports on file, and has received zero media coverage. He has not appeared at any candidate forums or public events related to the race.
Arlington is a small town in Shelby County, east of Memphis — making Pellegra one of two West Tennessee candidates in the race (along with Democrat Jerri Green from Memphis).
🎓 Education Positions
Unknown. Pellegra has not made any public statements on education policy, school vouchers, teacher pay, or any other issue in the TNFirefly policy framework.
TNFirefly Assessment: A ballot-only candidate with no discernible campaign. Will appear on the Aug. 6 Republican primary ballot alongside Blackburn, Rose, and Fritts, but is not a factor in the race.
Democratic Primary
AK
Adam "Ditch" Kurtz
Adam "Ditch" Kurtz is a Nashville-based pedal steel guitarist who launched his campaign at The 5 Spot in East Nashville in May 2025 with the slogan "By the people, for the people — I'm a people." Originally from the Boston area, he's lived in Music City for over a decade, playing with artists like Joshua Ray Walker, Silverada, JP Harris, and Sunny Sweeney.
Kurtz is running a grassroots, small-donor-only campaign that explicitly rejects corporate money. His platform emphasizes lowering costs for working Tennesseans: free healthcare, free pre-K childcare, eliminating the grocery tax, raising the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana (with tax revenue directed to public schools), and investing in affordable housing.
He positions himself as a "Tennessee Democrat" — distancing from national party politics while embracing progressive economic populism. He's formed a relationship with state Rep. Gloria Johnson, one of Tennessee's most prominent Democratic lawmakers. His campaign website is ditch4governor.com.
🎓 Education Positions
Top priority. Kurtz says public education is his number one issue and wants Tennessee's public schools to be "number one in the country." He supports raising teacher pay, supporting teachers' unions, and directing marijuana tax revenue toward schools. He has a Political Science degree. No specific positions on vouchers, TCAP, or BEP funding have been articulated beyond broad support for public education investment.
TNFirefly Assessment: The most colorful candidate in the Democratic field. Kurtz brings genuine populist energy and an unconventional personal story, but has no political experience, no fundraising infrastructure, and faces the same fundamental math as every Democrat in deep-red Tennessee. Running behind Jerri Green in the primary, who has actual government experience and institutional support.
CA
Carnita Atwater
Dr. Carnita Atwater is a Memphis community advocate, museum president, and perennial candidate making her second run for governor. She ran in the 2022 Democratic primary (finishing third behind Jason Martin and JB Smiley Jr.) and also ran unsuccessfully for Memphis mayor in 2023, losing to Paul Young.
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Atwater moved to Memphis as a teenager and built a career spanning healthcare (EMT, nurse), higher education administration (Draughons Junior College/Daymar College in Clarksville), and community advocacy. She currently leads the African American International Museum Foundation and has focused on advocacy in historically Black Memphis communities.
Her platform centers on being "the people's governor" — fighting racial disparities, healthcare inequality, and economic injustice. She describes herself as a community advocate rather than a politician, with the motto: "Get people back into politics." She has pledged to visit all 95 Tennessee counties.
Note: Atwater has faced legal issues including a U.S. bankruptcy court monetary penalty for "willful and repeated failure to comply with court orders," and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied her appeal.
🎓 Education Positions
Atwater has spoken broadly about improving education and addressing disparities but has not articulated specific positions on vouchers, teacher pay, TCAP, or BEP funding reform. Her 2022 campaign focused more on healthcare and economic equity than education-specific policy. Her background includes administrative roles in higher education.
TNFirefly Assessment: Atwater is a persistent voice for Memphis's Black community and brings genuine lived experience to the race. However, her third-place 2022 primary finish, unsuccessful 2023 mayoral bid, legal issues, and lack of institutional Democratic support make her a long shot even within the Democratic primary. Jerri Green, also from Memphis, is better positioned to consolidate Shelby County's Democratic base.
TC
Tim Cyr
Tim Cyr, also known as "Tennessee Tim," is a Gallatin resident who moved to the Volunteer State in 2017. This is not his first run for office — he also ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2010 for Illinois House of Representatives District 109.
Beyond his filing paperwork, very little is publicly known about Cyr's campaign. He has no campaign website, no social media presence of note, no campaign finance reports, and has received minimal media coverage. He has not completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Gallatin, the county seat of Sumner County, is northeast of Nashville in a heavily Republican part of Middle Tennessee — an unusual base for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
🎓 Education Positions
Unknown. Cyr has not made any public statements on education policy.
TNFirefly Assessment: A ballot-only candidate with no visible campaign infrastructure. Will appear on the Aug. 6 Democratic primary ballot but is not a factor in the race.
Independent / General Election Only
SM
Stephen Maxwell
Stephen Maxwell is a PTSD military veteran, nonprofit director, minister, and church board member running as an independent. He filed for the general election ballot directly (independents skip the primary in Tennessee).
Maxwell's platform, as described in his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, centers on limiting federal "overreach" (opposing REAL ID, TSA, and the Patriot Act), year-round gender-segregated education, support for farmers (40% statewide stimulus), teacher raises, veteran housing, clergy protection, and requiring 90 of 95 counties to approve the state budget before the governor signs it.
He describes himself as wanting a "Bigger, Better, Faster Tennessee" and emphasizes fiscal transparency, pulling back money suspected of "Waste, Fraud and Abuse," and expanding the governor's cabinet to address health, welfare, and society issues directly.
🎓 Education Positions
Supports year-round education with gender-separated classrooms. Wants students who excel to skip grades or have non-testing/homework periods. Supports teacher raises. No specific positions on vouchers, TCAP, or school funding formulas.
TNFirefly Assessment: The most detailed platform among the independent candidates. Maxwell has articulated actual policy positions — even if some are unconventional. However, independent candidates face enormous ballot access and visibility challenges in Tennessee. No independent has won statewide office in modern Tennessee history.
+3
Lauren Pinkston, Manasa Reddy & Robert Vick
Three additional independent candidates have filed to appear on the November general election ballot:
Lauren Pinkston — Has filed as an independent candidate. No campaign website, no Ballotpedia survey, no media coverage, and no public platform available.
Manasa Reddy — Has filed as an independent candidate. No campaign website, no Ballotpedia survey, no media coverage, and no public platform available.
Robert Vick — Has filed as an independent candidate. No campaign website, no Ballotpedia survey, no media coverage, and no public platform available.
All three will bypass the primary process and appear directly on the November 3 general election ballot alongside the Republican and Democratic nominees.
TNFirefly Assessment: Ballot-only candidates with no discernible campaigns. Tennessee's general election ballot will be crowded but the governor's race will be decided between the Republican and Democratic nominees. These candidacies are procedural, not competitive.
This tracker is produced by The Tennessee Firefly, an education journalism outlet covering all 95 Tennessee counties. All information is sourced from public records, official filings, and verified reporting. We do not endorse candidates. Factual information is clearly separated from analysis. Learn more about our standards.
