891 early votes cast in House primary

A total of 891 early votes were cast for Thursday's special called primary election, leading to an October general election which will fill the vacant 62nd District seat in Tennessee House of Representatives.

According to Bedford County Administrator of Elections Summer Leverette, there were 718 early votes in the Republican primary, in which candidates Joseph Byrd, Pat Marsh, Bobby Scott and Casey Walters are competing, and 173 early votes in the Democratic primary, which has only one candidate, Ty Cobb II. Early voting ended at noon Saturday.

"We expected it to be slow," said Leverette. "Actually, it's a little better than we thought." She still characterized the turnout as light.

Polls will be open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday at all of the normal precinct locations. Totals will be posted to the t-g.com web site as they become available.

The Republican nominee will face Cobb and independent Chris Brown, who identifies himself as a member of the Constitution Party, in the Oct. 13 general election.

The vacancy resulted when the incumbent, Cobb's brother Curt Cobb, resigned June 30 to take a position in the Bedford County court system.

The 62nd district includes all of Bedford County, part of Lincoln County and the Eagleville area of Rutherford County.