Larsen Jay raising money at record-setting pace for Knox County mayoral race

The election to replace Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is more than two years away, but candidate Larsen Jay is out to a blazing start raising money for his campaign for the seat.

Jay, a Republican Knox County commissioner at-large, raised more than $276,000 since his campaign started. That's the most any candidate for county office has ever raised in a single fundraising period, according to a Knox News review of campaign finance disclosures.

Jay was first elected to the Knox County Commission in 2018. In his 2022 reelection, he received more than 30,000 votes. Jacobs had only a couple hundred more in that election and Jay outpaced fellow Republican Commissioner at-large Kim Frazier by almost 1,000 votes.

Jay served as chairman of the commission from 2020-2021.

“I am honored and humbled by the amount of support our campaign has already received this early in our race for Knox County mayor,” Jay said in a news release.

“I am excited and encouraged by the momentum we already have, but we still have a long way to go, and I will work hard to earn the support of Knox County’s voters between now and Election Day.”

Jay isn't the only Republican running to replace Jacobs. Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond also is in the race. Hammond was not immediately available for comment about the latest campaign fundraising reports.

No Democrats have declared so far for the race. The primary is in spring 2026 and the general election is August 2026.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.