Cyril Focht

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

Cyril Focht

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 1, 2024

Education

High school

Cookeville High School

Bachelor's

Tennessee Tech, 2017

Graduate

University of California, Santa Cruz, 2019

Personal

Birthplace

Cookeville, Tenn.

Profession

College instructor

Contact

Campaign website

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Personal Facebook

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Cyril Focht (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 1, 2024.

Focht completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Cyril Focht was born in Cookeville, Tennessee. Focht earned a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Tech in 2017 and a graduate degree from UC Santa Cruz in 2019. His career experience includes working as a college instructor.

Elections

2024

See also: Tennessee's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

Tennessee's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Democratic primary)

Tennessee's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 6

Incumbent John Rose defeated Lore Bergman in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Rose (R)	68.0	225,543
		Lore Bergman (D)	32.0	106,144

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,687
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 6

Lore Bergman defeated Clay Faircloth and Cyril Focht in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 6 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lore Bergman	42.2	8,684
		Clay Faircloth	36.3	7,474
		Cyril Focht	21.5	4,422

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,580
= 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

• John Kennedy (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 6

Incumbent John Rose advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 6 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Rose	100.0	38,607

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,607
= 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

• Joe Reid (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Focht in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cyril Focht completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Focht's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I've lived in Cookeville almost all of my life; I grew up here, went to college at Tennessee Tech, and after moving away for a few years pursuing a master's degree I came back to teach at Tennessee Tech. My professional background is in computer science and software ethics—which is why my platform has such an emphasis on legislating digital technology, but I've always been a man of many interests, especially when it comes to areas that affect the public good. Growing up in scouts, I've always been active in serving my community, and it's that background that lead me to realize that serving in a position of elected leadership is one of the highest expressions of civic duty that a citizen can carry out. That's why I decided to run, because I want to make life better for everyone who lives here.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Digital technology affects every aspect of modern society, and for all its benefits, causes just as much harm. We need elected leaders who understand technology to be able to address those harms.
• For our government to serve the people, it has to be a government of the people. We have far too many elected officials who are in it to serve their own interests, so we need better measures in place to keep our representatives accountable to serving their constituents.
• As a professional educator, I care deeply about improving the quality of education in our country and making sure educational opportunities are accessible to everyone.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

while I have an emphasis on legislating digital technology, I also care deeply about education reform, government accountability, rural economic development, healthcare, queer rights and women's rights, and climate issues.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Fred Rogers, I've always admired his authenticity, integrity, and profound compassion for his fellow man. He left a legacy from those qualities that I always strive to follow.

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

A commitment to putting the good of their constituents first.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was on waterfront staff for the summer camp program at Boxwell Scout Reservation. I worked every summer until I graduated college, and have filled in as-needed many years since, as recently as this year.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Uncle Iroh, from Avatar: the Last Airbender

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

Prior experience is a benefit for efficacy in any job, but it's important for elected leaders to have regular turnover, otherwise our leadership stagnates and it becomes easier for a few people to hold onto political power for themselves. It's necessary for a healthy democracy to regularly cycle new leadership to replace their predecessors.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Term limits are necessary for a healthy democracy, and I will do everything in my power to put term limits in place for our legislature.

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 website

Focht’s campaign website stated the following:

“	MY PRIORITIES Tech Policy In the ever-evolving realm of technology, we must address key concerns. Artificial intelligence (AI) holds tremendous power, but without accountability, its decisions can go unchecked. Social media platforms have revolutionized communication but lack consistent content moderation and can harm mental health. Data privacy is paramount, as companies collect and utilize our information without transparency. The right to repair is a fundamental freedom, extending to personal devices and essential equipment. Lastly, bridging the digital divide through rural broadband is imperative, ensuring equal access to economic resources and treating all Americans as equals in the digital age. Together, we can navigate these tech policy challenges while fostering innovation and safeguarding individual rights. Education Public education is one of the most important public resources that a government can provide, and yet the current state of our education system is in shambles. Our schools are struggling to retain qualified teachers amidst poor working conditions, abysmal pay, and arbitrary state mandates that make it harder for teachers to do their jobs. There is nothing more important for us to invest in than our children, and that starts with investing in our teachers so that we can attract high quality educators and retain them with good job security. Government Accountability Too many of our elected officials enter politics as a means of getting rich, rather than to serve the people they’re elected to represent. Our current system is designed to serve corporate interests more than its citizens, and we need to change that by putting term limits on elected offices, like congress, and put an end to financial contributions from corporate lobbyists. Queer Rights Tennessee has continued to take a spotlight in national news for our hostility toward queer people in our communities. Between state and federal legislation and increasingly hostile attitudes toward them, Tennessee is no longer a safe place for queer people to live. We have to make sure transgender people have secure access to affirming care, and take measures to prevent the growing rate of violent crime toward queer adults and children alike. MY POLICIES Climate Crisis We are past the tipping point where natural disasters are going to continue getting worse year by year unless we make huge changes to our energy infrastructure. We used to be a country of innovation, but our reliance on fossil fuels is a relic of the last century and it’s time we move on to better, more efficient forms of energy. Modern advancements into solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and nuclear energy are far more sustainable and cost-effective modes of producing energy than coal, oil, or gas. Healthcare Everyone has a right to a long, healthy life and, as a society, we should take care of each other when we’re sick and injured. That means doing everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to adequate healthcare. Nothing is free, of course, and doctors have to be paid for the critical, lifesaving work that they do, but the ballooning costs of healthcare continue to make access to lifesaving treatments more and more inaccessible to Americans who need it. Private insurance companies do whatever they can get away with to avoid paying for the medical expenses of their clients, so hospitals have to invest more into administrators to work with insurance companies and advocate for their patients. This extra administrative load causes medical costs to rise, which in turn raises the cost of insurance. That combination makes the cost of medical care out of reach for most hard working Americans. Opioid Epidemic Tennessee is one of the highest ranked states when it comes to opioid abuse and overdose rates. Pharmaceutical companies have pushed doctors to increase opioid prescriptions for their patients, disregarding the long-term health and safety of those patients to make a profit. We need to increase support for people suffering from opioid addiction with rehabilitation programs and resources for healthcare providers. Reproductive Rights It’s always a tragic situation when an abortion needs to be performed, but the sad fact of life is that it’s difficult to bring life into this world and pregnancies can be dangerous for both the mother and child. There are never easy choices when abortion is considered, which is why that conversation belongs between the mother and her healthcare provider. By allowing the government to make decisions for these individuals, we are infringing upon peoples’ right to privacy. Gun Reform We have an epidemic of gun violence in our country, and as much as we all want to end this mass violence, there are no simple solutions for this problem. In the face of violence, people need to have the ability to defend themselves, but a more densely armed society will ultimately result in more widespread violence. Outright firearm bans, on the other hand, won’t solve the problems that cause people to commit acts of violence. An ideal solution would address the motivations for violent crime, not the methods used to carry it out, but that requires time to investigate the root of a dire and immediate problem and there are actionable steps that we can take right now to at least lessen its severity. There are common-sense measures that we can begin taking now while working on long-term solutions. Economy A strong economy is one that serves the people making it run. If hard working Americans aren’t able to provide for their families, then we can’t say we have a strong economy. We need to invest in support for local businesses, strengthen worker’s rights, break up corporate monopolies, and give power back to labor unions that fight for safety and wellbeing in the workplace.	”
—Cyril Focht’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Cyril Focht campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Lost primary	$65,101	$65,101
Grand total			$65,101	$65,101
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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Candidate

U.S. House Tennessee District 6

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Footnotes

[show]

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

Mark Green (R)

District 8

David Kustoff (R)

District 9

Steve Cohen (D)

Republican Party (10)

Democratic Party (1)