Party primaries will be held in August with the general election in November.

Republican State Sen. Jim Tracy has turned in his petition to run for re-election, and Murfreesboro Democrat Dee Butler has also filed for the 16th District seat, according to Election Commission officials.

The district includes Bedford, Moore and parts of Rutherford counties.

On the House side, incumbent State Rep. Curt Cobb has picked up his petition, but has not returned it. However, two Republicans have turned in their list of signatures: Barbara Blanton and Chris Brown, both of Shelbyville.

The 62nd House District includes all of Bedford and parts of Rutherford and Lincoln counties.

Blanton served as a Mississippi state senator from 1988 to 1992. After moving to Tennessee, she served four years as chairman of the Bedford County Republican Party and four years as vice-chairman.

She is also on the Republican State Executive Committee (state committee Woman District 16) and President of both the Rotary Club of Shelbyville and the Bedford County Medical Association Alliance and has held leadership positions in a number of civic organizations in both Tennessee and Mississippi.

Brown, who was the Republican nominee for Bedford County sheriff in 2006, is a Bedford County native, is a self-employed owner-operator truck driver leased to Nationwide Express in Shelbyville and holds a paralegal degree.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served several non-consecutive enlistments over a 19-year period, including service during Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm. He has been a military police officer, a combat engineer, worked with the Judge Adjutant General's office and worked in chemical decontamination.

He is a member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

Cobb has served as a state representative since the 103rd General Assembly.

He serves on the House Commerce Committee, the Transportation Committee, the Public Transportation and Highways Subcommittee, the Utilities and Banking Subcommittee, the Public Safety and Rural Roads Subcommittee, the Business Tax Committee, and the Fiscal Review Committee. He is also a member of the Shelbyville Historic Zoning Commission.

Cobb is also the owner of Cobb Realty and Auction, LLC., where he works as both a real estate broker and auctioneer. He graduated from Shelbyville Central High School.

Tracy is currently the Assistant Floor Leader of the Senate Republican Caucus, the Vice-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, the Secretary of the Senate Education Committee, and a member of the Senate Government Operations Committee.

Tracy graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a bachelor's degree. He is a Nationwide Insurance agent with offices in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro.

Among legislation he sponsored was a bill that banned smoking in indoor public places, places owned or operated by the state, and enclosed areas of employment.

Dee Butler is a native of Rutherford County, attended the Murfreesboro and Rutherford County school systems and has served as a pre-kindergarten teacher in both public and private schools and served as a substitute in Rutherford County schools.

She has a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from U.T. Knoxville and an M.A. in education from the University of London, Institute of Education and an M.A. in teaching and E.C.E. certification from Belmont University.

According to her campaign material she supports quality after school programs and strong neighborhood watch programs, is behind community recycling programs and incentives and wants to end toxic waste dumping in state landfills.

Education is also an issues close to Butler and she wants classroom support of public school teachers, quality public pre-kindergarten classrooms, strong early childhood literacy programs and curriculum and recycling educational curriculum for use in the Pre-K classroom.