2007 Nashville mayoral election

2007 Nashville mayoral election

← 2003 August 2, 2007 (primary) September 11, 2007 (runoff) 2011  →

Candidate Karl Dean Bob Clement Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round 24,122 24.08% 23,575 23.53% Runoff 51,946 52.25% 47,347 47.62%   Candidate Howard Gentry Jr. Buck Dozier Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round 23,180 23.14% 17,738 17.70%

Mayor before election Bill Purcell Nonpartisan Elected Mayor Karl Dean Nonpartisan

The 2007 Nashville mayoral election took place on September 11, 2007, following a primary election on August 2, 2007. Incumbent Mayor Bill Purcell was term-limited and could not seek a third term. A crowded field emerged to succeed him, which included Law Department Director Karl Dean, former Congressman Bob Clement, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry Jr., and Metro Councilmen Buck Dozier and David Briley. In the primary election, Dean narrowly placed first, winning 24 percent of the vote. In second place, Clement won 23.5 percent and narrowly beat out Gentry, who won 23.1 percent. ^[1]

In the runoff, Dean narrowly defeated Clement, winning 52 percent of the vote to Clement's 48 percent. ^[2]

Primary election

Candidates

• Karl Dean, Director of the Metro Law Department ^[3]
• Bob Clement, former U.S. Representative from Tennessee's 5th congressional district , 2002 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate ^[4]
• Howard Gentry Jr., Vice Mayor ^[5]
• Buck Dozier, Metro Councilman ^[6]
• David Briley, Metro Councilman ^[7]
• Ken Eaton, businessman ^[8]
• Cheryl Tisdale, school employee ^[9]

Declined

• Torry Johnson, 20th Judicial District Attorney General ^[10]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	David Briley	Bob Clement	Karl Dean	Buck Dozier	Kenneth Eaton	Howard Gentry Jr.	Cheryl Tisdale	Undecided
SurveyUSA [11]	July 19–22, 2007	564 (LV)	± 4.2%	12%	23%	21%	16%	1%	21%	1%	5%

Results

2007 Nashville mayoral primary election results ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Karl Dean	24,122	24.08%
	Nonpartisan	Bob Clement	23,575	23.53%
	Nonpartisan	Howard Gentry Jr.	23,180	23.14%
	Nonpartisan	Buck Dozier	17,738	17.70%
	Nonpartisan	David Briley	10,880	10.86%
	Nonpartisan	Ken Eaton	351	0.35%
	Nonpartisan	Cheryl Lynn Tisdale	288	0.29%
	Write-in		57	0.06%
Total votes			100,191	100.00%

Runoff election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Bob Clement	Karl Dean	Undecided
SurveyUSA [13]	September 3–5, 2007	536 (LV)	± 4.3%	46%	48%	6%

Results

2007 Nashville mayoral runoff election results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Karl Dean	51,946	52.25%
	Nonpartisan	Bob Clement	47,347	47.62%
	Write-in		130	0.13%
Total votes			99,423	100.00%

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. Cass, Michael (August 3, 2007). "It's Dean, Clement: They'll meet again in runoff, as 100,000 vote in tight race". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1A. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
2. Cass, Michael (September 12, 2007). "Dean wins: Fresh face, education stance attracted voters to Dean". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1A. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
3. Cass, Michael (December 20, 2006). "Metro law director joins mayoral race". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 6B. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
4. O'Neal, Lee Ann (February 10, 2006). "Clement steps closer to '07 race for mayor". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 2B. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
5. Cass, Michael (April 30, 2007). "Gentry promises to lead new 'culture change' in Nashville". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1A. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
6. Whitehouse, Ken (December 14, 2006). "Dozier formally announces for Mayor". NashvillePost.com . Nashville, Tennessee . Retrieved July 21, 2025.
7. Farmer, Blake (November 14, 2006). "Briley Makes Formal His Mayoral Bid". WPLN-FM . Nashville, Tennessee . Retrieved July 21, 2025.
8. Cass, Michael (May 7, 2007). "Long-shot status fails to deter mayoral campaigns of Eaton, Tisdale". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1B. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
9. Cass, Michael (May 7, 2007). "Tisdale is 'not a politician,' but wants to be mayor". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 4B. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
10. Cass, Michael (September 12, 2006). "District Attorney Johnson won't run for mayor". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1B. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
11. "Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #12401". SurveyUSA . July 23, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
12. "Unofficial Election Night Returns". Davidson County Election Commission. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
13. "Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #12585". SurveyUSA . September 6, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
14. "Unofficial Election Night Returns". Davidson County Election Commission. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2025.