Jay Adkins

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jay Adkins

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 6, 2020

Education

Associate

Northeast State Community College

Bachelor's

East Tennessee State University

Military

Years of service

2009 - 2016

Personal

Birthplace

Johnson City, Tenn.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign website

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Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Jay Adkins (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on August 6, 2020.

Adkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jay Adkins was born in Johnson City, Tennessee. Adkins served in the United States Army from 2009 to 2016. He earned an associate degree from Northeast State Community College. He earned a bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University. Adkins also attended Samford University for undergraduate study. His career experience includes working in manufacturing as a machinist and as a process engineer.

Elections

2020

See also: Tennessee's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

Tennessee's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Republican primary)

Tennessee's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 1

Diana Harshbarger defeated Blair Walsingham, Steve Holder, and Josh Berger in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Diana Harshbarger (R)	74.7	228,181
		Blair Walsingham (D)	22.5	68,617
		Steve Holder (Independent)	2.8	8,621
	Submit photo	Josh Berger (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	4

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 305,423
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 1

Blair Walsingham defeated Chris Rowe (Unofficially withdrew) and Larry Smith (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 1 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Blair Walsingham	52.7	6,076
		Chris Rowe (Unofficially withdrew)	33.6	3,869
	Submit photo	Larry Smith (Unofficially withdrew)	13.6	1,572
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	3

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,520
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 1

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 1 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Diana Harshbarger	19.2	18,074
		Timothy Hill	16.7	15,731
		Rusty Crowe	16.1	15,179
		Josh Gapp	14.2	13,379
	Submit photo	Steve Darden	12.4	11,647
		John Clark	9.4	8,826
		David Hawk	5.0	4,717
		Nichole Williams	3.0	2,803
		Jay Adkins	1.7	1,635
	Submit photo	Carter Quillen	0.9	853
	Submit photo	Richard Baker	0.3	298
		Chad Fleenor (Unofficially withdrew)	0.3	282
		Phil Arlinghaus	0.3	274
	Submit photo	Robert Franklin	0.2	229
	Submit photo	Chuck Miller	0.2	189
		Chance Cansler	0.2	147

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,263
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Cody Williams (R)
• Dan Street (R)
• J. S. Moore (R)
• Todd McKinley (R)
• Dustin Decal (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jay Adkins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Adkins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Abortion: I am Pro-Life and I am Pro-Women. I believe that life starts at conception and abortion is killing an innocent life. I will push for the de-funding of Planned Parenthood contrary to what many Republicans did when they had the chance during President Trump's first two years in office. Even though it is said that taxpayer money does not directly fund Planned Parenthood's abortions, every penny they get enables the killing of millions of babies every year. Despite what the pro-abortion side will tell you, abortion takes a toll on the survivors. For every radical who "shouts their abortion," there are thousands of women who are hurt and live with the pain of regret. I also believe that if we are to end the horror that is abortion, we must make it easier and more affordable for families to foster and adopt domestically. I will put forward legislation to provide tax breaks to foster families and streamline the adoption process.

Second Amendment: The Right to bear arms, like all the individual Rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is a Right given to us by our Creator and it pre-exists the creation of government. The Government has no legitimate authority to infringe on those Rights. "Arms" does not just mean "guns" and it certainly doesn't mean "hunting guns" either. As one of our founders, Tench Coxe said, "Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American...".

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Bible is the guiding text for my morals, however, I do not wish for a theocracy. The United States Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers, and the writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Adam Smith guide my political beliefs.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected officials must be servants of the people. They must seek solutions that are fiscally sound and fall within the limits of the Constitution.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Engineers are problem solvers. They are given a problem that has to be solved within a set of parameters. These parameters could be budget, time, materials, or physical constraints. In the House, I will work to solve problems within the constraints of the Constitution, Ethics, and Fiscal Responsibility.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Article I of the Constitution clearly lays out the duties and responsibilities of the Congress.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to leave the House with a nation that is better off in terms of Liberty and Fiscal responsibility than when I left. I want the 1st district to have a stronger skilled workforce and I want a successor who will continue to work for freedom and the Constitution.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I vaguely remember some events, like the Challenger disaster, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, but I have very vivid memories of the fall of the Soviet Union. I remember watching the tanks in Moscow when I was 10. My parents had taught me about what the Soviet Union was like, how visitors to the United States had been brought to tears seeing grocery stores with full shelves. I knew that the world was changing for the better.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House of Representatives is the chamber that is closest to the people. The 2-year terms mean that citizens have a way to quickly react to policy decisions. This term allows the people to react to either an unpopular executive or legislature. This also means that Representatives are more responsive to constituents. The relatively low eligibility standard means that citizens with youth and less experience to serve the people of the separate states in a way that better shares their values.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that the short term length for Representatives is ideal for individuals who are new to elected office. Going to work in the People's House should be an act of citizen service, not a career path. Voters should be more concerned with a candidate's values and motivations, not his prior elected office.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Our country has a healthcare crisis that is coming to a boil. A complicated and expensive system is bringing us to consider radical choices that could hurt Americans for years to come. I do not believe that monopolies, either public or private, will solve the problem. Years of mismanagement and burdensome regulations have created a Gordian knot that will require creative, bi-partisan work to solve.

I believe that we must maintain a market-based system to promote the innovation leadership that the United States is known for. There are also market approaches that can be implemented to reduce costs for the consumer.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Two issues that I am very concerned about are education and criminal justice reform. I believe that East Tennessee needs to build a skilled and trained workforce to meet growing demand. I also believe that we need to fix our criminal justice system so that we punish criminals appropriately while also allowing those who have paid their debt to society a way to re-enter and become contributing citizens. For these reasons I would like to be on either the Higher Education and Workforce Investment, or Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties subcommittees. As a Veteran who built a career in manufacturing by using my GI Bill benefits, I could also be useful on the Economic Opportunity subcommittee of Veteran's Affairs

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes. Two-year terms allow the people to keep a check on the Government, while the Senate's six-year terms help add stability beyond Presidential terms.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe in term limits for Representatives and Senators. I promise to self impose a 4 term limit if elected.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

As a freshman Representative, I would not seek a party leadership position. I would seek active involvement in the Freedom Caucus.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I support the way that Thomas Massie stands for Liberty and the Constitution. If elected I would join the House Freedom Caucus.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I have heard many stories about the quality of work being done at Mountain Home VA in Johnson City. I believe that this is because of the work of Dr. Phil Roe. I will continue the work to make sure that veterans receive the best care possible.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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Footnotes

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Tennessee's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Marsha Blackburn (R)

Bill Hagerty (R)

Representatives

District 1

Diana Harshbarger (R)

District 2

Tim Burchett (R)

District 3

Charles Fleischmann (R)

District 4

Scott DesJarlais (R)

District 5

Andy Ogles (R)

District 6

John Rose (R)

District 7

Vacant

District 8

David Kustoff (R)

District 9

Steve Cohen (D)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (1)

Vacancies (1)