Jonathan Thorp (Tennessee)
Jonathan Thorp (independent) is running in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the special general election on December 2, 2025.[source]
Thorp is also running for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Thorp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jonathan Thorp served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2009. He earned a high school diploma from Custer High School, a bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2009, and a graduate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2013. His career experience includes working as a pilot.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Aftyn Behn (D) | |
| David Jones (D) | ||
 | Jason Knight (R) | |
 | Stewart Parks (R) | |
 | Jay Reedy (R) | |
 | Matt Van Epps (R) | |
 | Jonathan Thorp (Independent) | |
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 = 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. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2025
See also: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025 (October 7 Democratic primary)
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025 (October 7 Republican primary)
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
The primary will occur on October 7, 2025. The general election will occur on December 2, 2025. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Special general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Teresa Christie, Bobby Dodge, Robert James Sutherby, and Jonathan Thorp are running in the special general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on December 2, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Teresa Christie (Independent) | ||
| Bobby Dodge (Independent) | ||
| Robert James Sutherby (Independent) | ||
| Jonathan Thorp (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = 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
- Steven Hooper (Independent)
- Scerick Richard Longcope (Independent)
- David Richard Holbert (Independent)
- Caleb Stack (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Aftyn Behn, Darden Copeland, Vincent Dixie, and Bo Mitchell are running in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on October 7, 2025.
| ||||
| = 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
- Joy Davis (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
The following candidates are running in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on October 7, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Jody Barrett | |
 | Gino Bulso | |
 | Stuart Cooper | |
| Adolph Agbéko Dagan | ||
| Mason Foley | ||
| Jason Knight | |
 | Joe Leurs | |
| Stewart Parks | |
 | Lee Reeves | |
| Matt Van Epps | |
 | Tres Wittum | |
| ||||
| = 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
- Robby Moore (R)
- Robert James Sutherby (R)
- Brandon Ogles (R)
- Eddie Lee Murphy (R)
- John Wilt (R)
- John Wesley Smith IV (R)
- Michael Vogel (R)
- Noah Cline (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jonathan Thorp has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Jonathan Thorp asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Jonathan Thorp, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
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2025
Jonathan Thorp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thorp's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Like many people, I grew frustrated watching politics become more about party lines and special interests than about people. Too often, the voices of ordinary Tennesseans are drowned out in the noise of Washington. I believe it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’m running to represent those who feel left out of the conversation Not because they don’t care, but because no one has been speaking for them. This campaign is about putting people first, not politics. Stepping outside the partisan game doesn’t make us powerless, it makes us the difference.
My wife and I are raising our two boys in Robertson County, along with a few too many animals. The values guiding my life—integrity, humility, service, and looking out for one another—are the same values I’ll carry to Congress.
I’m not running to join the system; I’m running to fix it. If you’ve been waiting for someone to say what you’ve been thinking—that we can do better, and we deserve better—this campaign is for you.- Putting People Over Politics Washington is broken because politicians serve parties and special interests before the people they represent. I’m running to change that. I’ll be an independent voice who answers to Tennesseans, not party bosses. My guiding principle is simple: do what’s right, not what’s politically convenient.
- Restoring Fiscal Sanity Runaway spending and reckless policies are driving up the cost of everything from groceries to gas. Families shouldn’t pay the price for Washington’s dysfunction. I’ll fight to rein in spending, cut red tape, and make it easier for businesses and workers to thrive in Tennessee.
- A Lifetime of Service, Not Politics I’ve spent my entire career in the service of others: defending freedom as a combat pilot, protecting communities with law enforcement, and saving lives as an air ambulance pilot. I know what it means to show up when it matters most. I’m stepping forward now to serve Tennesseans in Congress with that same commitment.
Integrity matters just as much. In the Army and later in the air ambulance world, I learned that integrity means doing the right thing when no one is watching. For a representative, that means remembering whose money is being spent. Tax dollars are not government’s money; they’re the people’s money. I believe an elected official should treat every dollar as if it were coming from their own pocket, because in a very real sense, it is.
But principles don’t stop with honesty and stewardship. Humility is just as vital. Public office is not about building a career, it’s about service. It’s about understanding that the authority you hold was lent to you by the people, and it can be taken back at any time. An elected official should resist the arrogance of power and stay grounded in the lives of the people they represent.
Finally, courage is essential. Doing the right thing for all constituents—today and in the future—often means standing apart from party pressure, lobbyists, and even colleagues. Courage is what separates someone who talks about change from someone willing to make it.
If I’m fortunate enough to serve in Congress, I want my legacy to reflect the same principle: that I showed up when it mattered. That I put people first, even when it meant standing apart from the status quo. That I fought to restore fiscal sanity so our children wouldn’t inherit a weaker nation weighed down by debt. That I worked to rebuild trust in a government too many Americans have given up on.
On a personal level, I want my boys to look back and know their dad didn’t just talk about problems, he stepped forward to try to fix them. I want them to see that integrity and honesty matter more than popularity, and that public service means sacrifice, not self-promotion.
Our debt is more than a number on a spreadsheet. It’s a national security risk, because a nation buried in debt cannot act freely. It’s an economic time bomb, because interest payments alone are consuming more of the federal budget than defense or healthcare. And it’s a moral failing, because it means we are living at our children’s expense.
The next decade will test whether we have the courage to confront this reality. Do we have leaders willing to say “no” to endless borrowing? Are we willing to make government live within its means, just as families and businesses must do? If not, we risk not only our economy, but the very promise of upward mobility that defines America.
Addressing this challenge is not about left versus right. It’s about sustainability and stewardship. It’s about remembering that government does not create wealth, it only spends what others have created. And if it spends too much, it destroys the foundation of prosperity for everyone.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 27, 2025
