2018 Nashville mayoral special election

2018 Nashville mayoral special election

← 2015 May 24, 2018
Officially nonpartisan
2019 →
Turnout20.71% Decrease 8.92 pp[1]
 
Candidate David Briley Carol Swain Erica Gilmore
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
Popular vote 44,845 18,850 4,608
Percentage 54.44% 22.89% 5.59%

 
Candidate Harold M. Love Jr. Ralph Bristol
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 4,349 4,341
Percentage 5.28% 5.27%

Results by precinct
Briley:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90%
Swain:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%
Gilmore:      >90%
     No data

Mayor before election

David Briley

Elected mayor

David Briley

The 2018 Nashville mayoral special election took place on May 24, 2018, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. David Briley, a Democrat who became interim mayor after the resignation of Megan Barry, won outright without a runoff election.[2]

Former Mayor Megan Barry resigned on March 6, 2018, for embezzlement on March 6, 2018,[3] so the Davidson County Election Commission scheduled an election for August 2, 2018 to coincide with the state primary elections, school board elections and the election of several other municipal officials.[4] However, mayoral candidate Ludye Wallace sued on the basis of state law (T.C.A. § 2-14-102[5]) and a 2007 Metropolitan government charter amendment, both requiring an earlier election if the next general metropolitan election was more than twelve months away. The Tennessee Supreme Court agreed with Wallace's argument, unanimously ordering a mayoral election between May 21 and May 25.[6]

Early voting was scheduled from May 4 to May 19.[7] All Nashville municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but each candidate was affiliated with a political party. If no candidate had won a majority of the vote, a runoff would have been held on June 28 between the top two finishers.[7]

  1. ^ "Election Statistics | Nashville.gov". www.nashville.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Garrison, Joey (May 24, 2018). "Nashville Mayor David Briley wins special mayoral race, avoiding runoff". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Fausset, Richard; Smith, Mitch (March 6, 2018). "Megan Barry, Nashville Mayor, Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Garrison, Joey (March 9, 2018). "Nashville mayoral election set by commission for August, but legal challenge looms". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "2010 Tennessee Code :: Title 2 - Elections :: Chapter 14 - Special Elections :: :: Part 1 - General Provisions :: :: 2-14-102 - Time of holding special election". Justia Law. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Garrison, Joey (April 10, 2018). "Tennessee Supreme Court moves up Nashville mayoral election to May". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Garrison, Joey (April 11, 2018). "Nashville mayoral election now set for May 24". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 24, 2018.