| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 20.52% (first round) 0.44 pp 23.02% (runoff) 2.50 pp [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First-round results by precinct O'Connell: 10–20% 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% Rolli: 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% >90% Wiltshire: 10–20% 20–30% 30–40% Hurt: 10–20% 20–30% 30–40% Wilhoite: 10–20% 20–30% Yarbro: 20–30% 60–70% Tie Runoff results by precinct O'Connell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Rolli: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% No data | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in Tennessee |
---|
Government |
The 2023 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 3, 2023, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John Cooper did not seek re-election to a second term in office. [2] A wide field of candidates ran to succeed Cooper, with Democratic metro councilmember Freddie O'Connell and Republican political consultant Alice Rolli advancing to the runoff because no candidate surpassed 50% of the vote. In the runoff election, O'Connell was elected with 63.9% of the vote, defeating Rolli and becoming the 10th mayor of metro Nashville. [3]
O'Connell was considered one of the more progressive figures in Nashville politics and is known for his vocal opposition to the use of public funds to build the Nissan Stadium. [4] Rolli is a businesswoman who has worked for numerous prominent Tennessee Republicans in the past, including governor Bill Haslam and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander. [5]
Rolli was considered an underdog in the runoff due to her status as a Republican in a heavily Democratic city. In the 60 years since the city of Nashville was consolidated with Davidson County in 1963, it has never elected a Republican mayor. [5] Democrat Joe Biden won the city with 64.5% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election. [6]
All Nashville municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but candidates can be affiliated with a political party.
Candidate | Experience | Party Affiliation | Announced | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Freddie O'Connell | Metro councilmember from the 19th district since 2015 | Democratic [7] | April 28, 2022 Website | [8] |
Alice Rolli | Former aide to governor Bill Haslam and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander | Republican [7] | February 24, 2023 Website | [9] |
Candidate | Experience | Party Affiliation | Announced | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Natisha Brooks | Educator Candidate for Tennessee's 5th congressional district in 2022 | Republican [10] | February 20, 2023 Website | [10] |
Fran Bush | Former member of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board (2018–2022) | Independent [7] | February 17, 2023 Website | [11] |
Heidi Campbell | State senator from the 20th district since 2021 Nominee for Tennessee's 5th congressional district in 2022 | Democratic [12] | April 5, 2023 Website | [12] |
Bernie Cox | Business owner Candidate for mayor in 2019 | Republican [7] | Website | [7] |
Sharon Hurt | At-Large metro councilmember since 2015 | Democratic [7] | December 5, 2022 Website | [13] |
Stephanie Johnson | Business owner | Independent | May 1, 2023 Website | [14] |
Vivian Wilhoite | Davidson County Property Assessor since 2016 | Democratic [15] | May 2, 2023 Website | [16] |
Matt Wiltshire | Former Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency chief strategy officer | Democratic [7] | July 13, 2022 Website | [17] |
Jeff Yarbro | Former Minority Leader of the Tennessee Senate (2019–2023) State senator from the 21st district since 2015 | Democratic [7] | February 17, 2023 Website | [18] |
Candidate | Experience | Party Affiliation | Announced | Withdrew | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Gingrich | Former AllianceBernstein chief operating officer | Democratic [7] | February 8, 2023 Website | July 17, 2023 | [19] [20] |
Labor unions
State senators
State representatives
Local officials
Organizations
Labor unions
Individuals
State legislators
Local officials
State legislators
Metro councilmembers
Local officials
Organizations
Labor unions
Local officials
Organizations
Individuals
State officials
Local officials
Organizations
Labor unions
State legislators
Metro councilmembers
Local officials
Organizations
U.S. Representatives
State legislators
Metro councilmembers
Organizations
Labor unions
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Fran Bush | Heidi Campbell | Jim Gingrich | Sharon Hurt | Freddie O'Connell | Alice Rolli | Vivian Wilhoite | Matt Wiltshire | Jeff Yarbro | Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VictoryPhones (R) [44] [a] | July 25–27, 2023 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 0.8% | 5.9% | – | 3.6% | 25.4% | 18.8% | 3.4% | 14.6% | 13.1% | 14.5% |
GBAO Strategies (D) [45] [b] | July 17–19, 2023 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | – | 8% | – | 6% | 21% | 13% | 4% | 10% | 12% | 25% |
Gingrich withdraws from the race | |||||||||||||
Music City Research [46] [c] | July 5–6, 2023 | 502 (LV) | ± 4.2% | – | 7% | 4% | 3% | 20% | 13% | 3% | 15% | 6% | 30% |
Public Policy Polling (D) [47] [d] | June 2–4, 2023 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.2% | – | 8% | 3% | 7% | 10% | 4% | – | 8% | 9% | 51% [e] |
VictoryPhones (R) [48] [a] | May 2–4, 2023 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 2% | 21.9% | 4.2% | 6.7% | 15.6% | 4% | 3.2% | 6.6% | 17% | 18.8% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Hal Cato | John Cooper | Matt Wiltshire | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Impact Research [49] [f] | April 6–11, 2022 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 38% | 28% | 13% | 21% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Freddie O'Connell | 27,503 | 27.14 | |
Alice Rolli | 20,472 | 20.20 | |
Matthew Wiltshire | 17,193 | 16.97 | |
Jeff Yarbro | 12,356 | 12.19 | |
Heidi Campbell | 8,337 | 8.23 | |
Sharon Hurt | 6,104 | 6.02 | |
Vivian Willhoite | 4,758 | 4.70 | |
Jim Gingrich | 1,668 | 1.65 | |
Natisha Brooks | 1,458 | 1.44 | |
Stephanie Johnson | 581 | 0.57 | |
Fran Bush | 503 | 0.50 | |
Bernie Cox | 322 | 0.32 | |
Write-in | 80 | 0.07 | |
Total votes | 101,335 | 100.00 |
Endorsements in bold were made after the first round.
State senators
State representatives
Metro councilmembers
Local officials
Individuals
Organizations
Labor unions
Local officials
Organizations
Individuals
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Freddie O'Connell | Alice Rolli | Other/ Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Show Me Victories (D) [58] | August 11–16, 2023 | 430 (RV) | ± 3.8% | 58% | 40% | 2% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Freddie O'Connell | 72,989 | 63.85 | |
Alice Rolli | 41,205 | 36.04 | |
Write-in | 123 | 0.11 | |
Total votes | 114,317 | 100.00 |
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. Located in Middle Tennessee, it had a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census. Nashville is the 21st most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S. Located on the Cumberland River, the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, and is one of the fastest growing in the nation.
Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the 2nd most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville, the state capital and most populous city.
Clifton Beverly Briley was an American attorney and politician, the first mayor of the newly consolidated metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee. Elected to the mayor's position in 1962 as a Democrat, Briley served three terms from 1963 to 1975; he was prevented by term limits from running again. He had previously served as county judge of Davidson County for several terms, from 1950 to 1963.
The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of the consolidated city-county government of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County.
Norman Buck Dozier is a council member-at-large for the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee and a former mayoral candidate.
Ronnie Steine was the fifth vice mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, from 1999 until he resigned in 2002 after he admitted he had twice been arrested for shoplifting. He was also a candidate for Tennessee's 5th congressional district. In September 2007, Steine won an at-large seat in the Metro Council.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball, and was re-elected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.
Megan Christine Barry is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the seventh mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until March 6, 2018, when she resigned after pleading guilty to felony theft related to an extramarital affair with a city employee who had served as the head of her security detail. Barry is a member of the Democratic Party.
Jeff Yarbro is an American attorney and politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented District 21 in the Tennessee Senate since 2015, and served as Senate Minority Leader between 2019 and 2023. In 2023, Yarbro ran for Mayor of Nashville in the 2023 election, and finished in fourth place.
The 2015 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 6, 2015, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Karl Dean was term limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. Since there was no candidate that received a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held. In the runoff election, Democratic candidate Megan Barry was elected with 54.8% of the vote, defeating Republican Candidate David Fox.
Mary Mancini is an American political activist and former candidate, who served as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party on January 10, 2015 as the second woman to be elected to that position and was re-elected to a second two-year term in January 2017 and a third in January 2019. She was a candidate for Tennessee State Senate District 21 and lost in the 2014 Democratic primary to Jeff Yarbro. She had previously served as Executive Director of Tennessee Citizen Action, an advocacy and grassroots organizing group based in Nashville. She also was the co-host of Liberadio with Mary Mancini and Freddie O'Connell, a liberal radio show. From 1992 to 1998 she was the owner of Lucy's Record Shop.
The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Haslam was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Republican candidate Bill Lee was elected with 59.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean.
Let's Move Nashville was a local referendum in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 1, 2018, that would have funded the construction of a mass transit system under the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority in Davidson County. The $8.9 billion plan would have included several light rail and bus rapid transit lines along major corridors, to be built between 2018 and 2032. The plan was proposed in 2017 by Mayor Megan Barry under the Tennessee IMPROVE Act and supported by some Nashville politicians and businesses.
The 2019 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 1, 2019, to elect the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor David Briley, who succeeded Megan Barry following her resignation and won a special election to fill the remainder of her term, ran for re-election. In the August election, Briley came in second behind city councilman John Cooper; however, no candidate took more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing a runoff between Cooper and Briley on September 12, 2019. Cooper won the runoff definitively with 69 percent of the vote.
The 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Lee was re-elected to a second term with 64.9% of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger Jason Martin. Lee improved on his performance from 2018.
John Cooper is an American businessman who was the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2019 to 2023. He served as a councilman at-large on the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the brother of former U.S. representative Jim Cooper, who represented Tennessee's 5th congressional district, which was also based in Nashville. He is also the son of former governor and U.S. Ambassador to Peru Prentice Cooper.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
Heidi Campbell is an American music publisher and politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, Campbell has represented the 20th district of the Tennessee Senate, covering the inner suburbs of Nashville, since 2021.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the State of Tennessee, one from each of the state's congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. Primary elections took place on August 1, 2024.
Thomas Frederick O'Connell is an American politician and currently serves as the 10th Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. From 2015 to 2023, he served as a member of the Nashville Metro Council representing the 19th district.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Metro Councilmember Bob Mendes said Monday that he'd stay out of this August's nonpartisan primary for mayor.
Official campaign websites