2023 Nashville mayoral election

2023 Nashville mayoral election

← 2019 August 3, 2023 (first round)
September 14, 2023 (runoff)
Officially nonpartisan
2027 →
Turnout20.52% Decrease (first round) 0.44 pp
23.02% Increase (runoff) 2.50 pp[1]
 
Candidate Freddie O'Connell Alice Rolli Matt Wiltshire
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
First round 27,503
27.14%
20,472
20.20%
17,193
16.97%
Runoff 72,989
63.85%
41,205
36.04%
Eliminated

 
Candidate Jeff Yarbro Heidi Campbell Sharon Hurt
Party Democratic Democratic Democratic
First round 12,356
12.19%
8,337
8.23%
6,104
6.02%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

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

Mayor before election

John Cooper
Democratic

Elected mayor

Freddie O'Connell
Democratic

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, Democratic candidate Freddie O'Connell was elected with 63.9% of the vote, defeating Republican Candidate Alice Rolli, becoming the 10th mayor of metro Nashville.[3]

Freddie 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] Alice 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.

  1. ^ "Election Statistics | Nashville.gov". www.nashville.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  2. ^ "Exclusive: Mayor Cooper signals re-election bid to influential group in private session". April 15, 2022.
  3. ^ West, Emily (September 14, 2023). "Freddie O'Connell to become Nashville's next mayor, elected with more than 64% of the vote". News Channel 5. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Rau, Nate (August 4, 2023). "O'Connell finishes first in Nashville mayor's race, will face Rolli in runoff". Axios. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Rau, Nate (July 25, 2023). "Mayoral candidate Alice Rolli makes her case". Axios. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Singer, Jeff (August 4, 2023). "Daily Kos Elections Live Digest: 8/4". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 4, 2023.