JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Early voting for the Tennessee House District 3 special primary election begins on Friday.

A special primary and general election will be held to fill the seat of former state Rep. Scotty Campbell. Campbell resigned in April over an ethics violation and allegations of sexual harassment of legislative interns.

GOP candidate Timothy Hill is currently serving as the interim representative for House District 3. Stacy Vaughan is challenging Hill for the Republican nomination. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Lori Love in the general election in August.

Legislators are set to head back to Nashville for a special session regarding public safety on Aug. 21. Some Republicans have called for this session to be canceled.

Vaughan said he believes the special session should be canceled.

“I believe Democrats are going to use it as a platform for more protest and probably worse than the last time,” Vaughan said. “They’re really going to probably make a show out of it.”

Hill said that the General Assembly needs to go to the session since Gov. Bill Lee made the call.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for us to stand up for what we believe in,” Hill said. “I’m going to stand up in favor of the Second Amendment.”

Hundreds of third graders in House District 3 have been impacted by the state’s new third-grade retention law. It requires a passing grade on the TCAP exam’s reading portion to advance to the fourth grade.

Hill said the intent of the law is good, but time is still needed to understand if it’s actually helping Tennessee students.

“The question is, is it doing what it’s intended to do and is it really helping our students?” Hill said. “That’s something we’ve got to look at.”

Vaughan said that the TCAP should not be used to decide whether a student progresses to the next grade.

“When you tell a student that this test is a pass-fail, whether you go to the next grade or not, it creates stress,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan said that he will fight for the rights of those in District 3. He promised a “patriot over politician” approach.

“I’m a patriot and not a politician,” Vaughan said. “I plan to stay among the people.”

Hill said that he will prioritize bringing jobs back to the Tri-Cities. He said that he’ll lean on his experience having already served in Nashville.

“They know that I’m a conservative, they know my principles, my core principles,” Hill said. “I’m very much the same person.”

The early voting period will continue through June 17. Election day is June 22.