Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's 95 counties, both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis, a port on the Mississippi River and the second most populous city in Tennessee. The county was named for Governor Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) of Kentucky. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee with a majority African American population, along with Haywood County. Shelby County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Located within the Mississippi Delta, the county was developed as a center of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, and cotton continued as an important commodity crop well into the 20th century. The economy has become more diversified.
Willie Wilbert Herenton is an American politician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was elected as the first elected African-American Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. He was elected to five consecutive terms and abruptly resigned the position mid-way through his fifth term in 2009.
The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Tennessee. The party was founded in 1826 initially as the Jacksonian Party. The Tennessee Democratic Party was born out of President Andrew Jackson's populist philosophy of Jacksonian democracy in the mid to late-1820s. After Jackson left office, the Democratic Party struggled in the state as the Whig Party would go on to be the dominant party in Tennessee until its collapse after the 1852 Election. Prior to the Civil War, as a result of the collapse of the former Whig Party, the Democratic Party became the dominant party in the state. After the war ended, the Republican Party would be the dominant political party during Reconstruction, but once Reconstruction ended, the Democratic Party would dominate Tennessee Politics up until 2011 when the Republican Party would gain firm control of Tennessee State Government.
Memphis, Tennessee is governed by a mayor and thirteen city council members. Since 1995, as a result of a legal challenge, all council members are elected from nine geographic districts. Seven are single-member districts and two have three representatives each.
John Bruce "Chip" Saltsman Jr. is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001, senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and manager of Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for the Chuck Fleischmann campaign in Tennessee's 3rd district from 2009 to 2010. Saltsman also worked for Randy Boyd's unsuccessful Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign in 2018.
A C Wharton Jr. is an American educator, politician, and attorney who served as the 63rd mayor of Memphis, Tennessee and previously mayor of Shelby County. He was the first African American to serve as mayor of Shelby County.
Lee Ardrey Harris is an American politician who currently serves as the Mayor of Shelby County, previously serving as a member of the Tennessee Senate, representing the 29th district. Harris is also a law professor. Prior to his election to the state senate, Harris represented District 7 on the Memphis City Council. He was born and raised in Memphis, and studied at Morehouse College, followed by Yale Law School.
The 2015 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 8, 2015, to elect the next mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor A C Wharton ran for re-election to a second full term in office. He was defeated by Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland, a fellow Democrat, who earned a plurality of the vote and became the first White mayor of Memphis in more than two decades.
Steven J. Mulroy is the District Attorney of Shelby County, Tennessee. Previously, he was a University of Memphis law professor who served on the County Commission for Shelby County, Tennessee from District 5 from 2006 to 2014. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he spent his high school years living in Gulf Breeze, Florida and studied at Cornell University, followed by William & Mary Law School. A member of the Democratic Party, his 2006 election to the Memphis-area County Commission seat shifted the balance of power from Republican to Democratic for the first time in the county's history.
The Ford family is a family of African-American politicians from Memphis, Tennessee in the United States. Below is a list of members of the Tennessee-based political family:
The 2019 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 3, 2019, to elect the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Jim Strickland, the incumbent mayor, was re-elected to second term in office. The mayoral election coincided with elections to all thirteen seats on the Memphis City Council.
Tom Leatherwood is an American politician serving in the Tennessee House of Representatives from Tennessee's 99th house district, since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. The 99th district includes the Northeast part of Shelby County, Tennessee, including the Town of Arlington, City of Lakeland, City of Millington, parts of North and East Bartlett, and unincorporated Northeast Shelby County.
The 2023 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 5, 2023, to elect the next mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent Jim Strickland was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term in office. The election used the plurality vote system, with no possibility of a runoff. The election was officially non-partisan, but several candidates were affiliated with political parties.
Tennessee state elections in 2022 were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Primary elections for the United States House of Representatives, governorship, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as various judicial retention elections, including elections for all five Tennessee Supreme Court justices as well as general local elections, were held on August 4, 2022. There were also four constitutional amendments to the Constitution of Tennessee on the November 8 ballot.
Tennessee state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, governorship, Tennessee Senate, Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as general local elections were held on August 2, 2018.
Tennessee state elections in 2014 were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, governorship, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as various judicial retention elections, including elections for three Tennessee Supreme Court justices, were held on August 7, 2014. There were also four constitutional amendments to the Constitution of Tennessee on the November 4 ballot.
The 2022 Shelby County mayoral election was held on August 4, 2022, to elect the mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Lee Harris won re-election with 58.0% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Worth Morgan.
The 2018 Shelby County mayoral election was held on August 2, 2018, to elect the next mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee. Incumbent Republican Mayor Mark Luttrell was term-limited and was prohibited from seeking a third consecutive term, he instead ran for congress. Democratic candidate Lee Harris was elected mayor with 55.3% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee David Lenoir.
The 2014 Shelby County mayoral election was held on August 7, 2014, to elect the mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee. Incumbent Republican Mayor Mark Luttrell won re-election with 62.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Deidre Malone.
The 2011 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 6, 2011, to elect the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent mayor A C Wharton, who took office on October 26, 2009, upon the resignation of Willie Herenton, ran for election to a full term and won.
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