Three incumbent judges unseated: Davidson County primary election results

Cassandra Stephenson, Nashville Tennessean
·3 min read
A slate of retiring judges left key seats on the bench open for newcomers in Davidson County's local primary election on May 3, 2022.
A slate of retiring judges left key seats on the bench open for newcomers in Davidson County's local primary election on May 3, 2022.

Three incumbent judges were unseated in notable upsets in Davidson County's primary election Tuesday.

Khadija Babb defeated incumbent Division V Criminal Court Judge Monte D. Watkins, who has overseen several high-profile trials during his time on the bench — including the Vanderbilt rape case.

Watkins was also set to preside over the trial of Nashville police officer Andrew Delke before Delke pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the shooting of Daniel Hambrick in 2018.

In another upset, Lynne T. Ingram defeated incumbent Kelvin Jones for Circuit Court Division VIII judge. A Nashville court found in April that Jones acted illegally during divorce proceedings stemming from at least 2019, though Jones has not been criminally charged and denied any illegal activity.

Robin Kimbrough Hayes unseated incumbent Diane Turner for General Sessions Division V judge, and former Nashville Mayor David Briley defeated Wendy Lynne Longmire for Division I Circuit Court judge.

DA race: Incumbent Glenn Funk set to win Democratic primary for Nashville district attorney

Republican candidate Brian A. Horowitz will face off against Democratic incumbent Lynda Jones for General Sessions Judge Division IX in the general election on Aug. 4. It is the only judicial race in August with a Republican and Democrat on the ballot.

Here's who came out ahead in Tuesday's primary election. Vote totals are considered unofficial, and totals for candidates running unopposed are not included.

General Sessions Court

General Sessions Judge Division I

Gale Robinson, incumbent

General Sessions Judge Division II

  • Melissa Blackburn, incumbent: 25,071

  • Kenneth Redditt: 13,839

General Sessions Judge Division III

Ana Escobar, incumbent

General Sessions Judge Division IV

Allegra Walker, incumbent

General Sessions Judge Division V

  • Robin Kimbrough Hayes: 24,150

  • Diane Turner, incumbent: 14,767

General Sessions Judge Division VI

  • Jim Todd: 16,796

  • Frank E. Mondelli, Jr.: 15,757

  • Paul J. Walwyn: 7,322

General Sessions Judge Division VII

Marcus Floyd

General Sessions Judge Division VIII

  • Rachel Bell, incumbent: 24,786

  • Erin Coleman: 15,041

General Sessions Judge Division IX, Republican primary

Brian A. Horowitz

General Sessions Judge Division IX, Democratic primary

Lynda Jones, incumbent

General Sessions Judge Division X

Sam Coleman, incumbent

General Sessions Judge Division XI

John Aaron Holt, incumbent

Criminal Court

Criminal Court Judge Division I

Steve R. Dozier, incumbent

Criminal Court Judge Division II

Angie Blackshear Dalton, incumbent

Criminal Court Judge Division III

  • Cheryl Blackburn, incumbent: 24,394

  • Kyle Parks: 15,080

Criminal Court Judge Division IV

Jennifer Smith, incumbent

Criminal Court Judge Division V

  • Khadija Babb: 21,924

  • Monte D. Watkins, incumbent: 18,198

Criminal Court Judge Division VI

  • Cynthia Chappell: 16,602

  • Marcus Shute Jr.: 10,682

  • Tillman Payne: 7,343

  • Seth Norman: 5,789

Criminal Court Clerk

Howard Gentry, incumbent

Circuit Court

Circuit Court, Division I

  • David Briley: 24,766

  • Wendy Lynne Longmire: 18,963

Circuit Court, Division II

Amanda McClendon, incumbent

Circuit Court, Division III

Phillip Robinson, incumbent

Circuit Court, Division IV

Phillip E. Smith, incumbent

Circuit Court, Division V

Joe P. Binkley Jr., incumbent

Circuit Court, Division VI

Tom Brothers, incumbent

Circuit Court, Division VII

  • Andra Hedrick: 21,406

  • John Manson: 9,499

  • Larry Hagar: 7,954

Circuit Court, Division VIII

  • Lynne T. Ingram: 22,341

  • Kelvin Jones, incumbent: 16,690

Circuit Court Clerk

  • Joseph P. Day: 15,609

  • Howard Jones: 14,851

  • Pam Murray: 9,139

Chancery Court

Chancery Court Part I

Patricia Head Moskal, incumbent

Chancery Court Part II

Anne C. Martin, incumbent

Chancery Court Part III

I’Ashea L. Myles

Chancery Court Part IV

Russell Perkins, incumbent

Juvenile Court

Juvenile Judge

Sheila D.J. Calloway, incumbent

Juvenile Court Clerk

Lonnell Matthews, incumbent

Sheriff

Daron Hall, incumbent

Public Defender

Martesha Johnson, incumbent

County Clerk

Brenda Wynn, incumbent

County Trustee

Erica Gilmore, incumbent

Register of Deeds

Karen Johnson, incumbent

Mariah Timms contributed.

Cassandra Stephenson covers Metro government for The Tennessean. Reach her at ckstephenson@tennessean.com or (731) 694-7261. Follow Cassandra on Twitter at @CStephenson731.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Judges, clerks and more: Davidson County primary election results