Dean Brewer
Independent candidate
Dean Brewer is an independent candidate for governor on the general election ballot. Independent candidates qualify by petition rather than through a primary: 25 registered voters' signatures, filed with the Secretary of State by the March 10, 2026 deadline. Brewer filed on March 10, 2026 and lives in Knoxville.
Knoxville, Knox
No TREF disclosure on file at last refresh
Who they are
No occupation or biographical detail for Brewer could be sourced. Politics1 lists a social link for him but no occupation, and TNFirefly located no campaign website, filing biography, or news profile.
Why they are running
In a statement quoted from his Facebook page by an independent voter guide published in May 2026, Brewer said: “I'm running as independent. It's time we remember how to be America and work together as Americans again.” The same guide reports he has described a program to house homeless veterans and provide counseling and on-the-job trade training.
Source: Stephanie Johnson, Daughter of Tennessee (2026-05-25)
Where they stand on education
TNFirefly could not source any statement by Brewer on schools, vouchers, school funding, or teachers.
How they qualified
Independents do not run in a primary. They reach the general election ballot by petition, which in Tennessee means gathering 25 valid voter signatures and filing by the qualifying deadline of March 10, 2026. Dean Brewer filed from Knoxville on March 10, 2026, and the Secretary of State recorded the petition signatures as approved.
Searched for a campaign website, local news coverage, and candidate questionnaires. The only located statement is the one quoted above, which the voter guide attributes to his Facebook page rather than to an interview it conducted.
Sources
- 1. Politics1, Tennessee 2026 Elections
- 2. Stephanie Johnson, Daughter of Tennessee, The Independent Voter Guide: Governor of Tennessee (2026) (2026-05-25)
- 3. Tennessee Secretary of State, 2026 candidate lists (certified qualified candidates for governor)
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About this tracker
This tracker is produced by The Tennessee Firefly, an independent, nonpartisan news outlet covering education and government in Tennessee. We don't endorse candidates. We don't take political ads. We follow the money, the policy, and the people who shape your kids' schools. All data comes from official filings, verified reporting, and on-the-record sources, with freshness timestamps visible on every page that surfaces live data.