Mayoral elections in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Mayoral elections in Chattanooga are held every four years to elect the mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

All Chattanooga municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but most candidates can be affiliated with political parties.

2001

2001 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 1997 March 6, 2001 2005 →
Registered	97,015
Turnout	31.8%
Candidate Bob Corker Irvin Overton Dan Johnson Popular vote 16,584 9,289 2,472 Percentage 53.82% 30.15% 8.02%
Mayor before election Jon Kinsey Democratic Elected mayor Bob Corker Republican

Endorsements

Irvin Overton

• William Cotton, Hamilton County commissioner from District 4 (Democratic)^[1]
• John "Duke" Franklin, city councilman^[1]

Results

General election results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Bob Corker	16,584	53.82%
	Nonpartisan	Irvin Overton	9,289	30.15%
	Nonpartisan	Marti Rutherford	2,472	8.02%
	Nonpartisan	David Crockett	1,308	4.25%
	Nonpartisan	John Wolfe Jr.	890	2.89%
	Nonpartisan	Ed Bibbins	68	0.22%
	Nonpartisan	Eddie Ewbanks	53	0.17%
	Nonpartisan	Tony Peoples	48	0.16%
	Nonpartisan	Laura Carter	38	0.12%
	Nonpartisan	Thomas E. Smith II	26	0.08%
	Nonpartisan	Mike Shepherd	8	0.03%
	Nonpartisan	Leonard Rowe	7	0.02%
	Write-in		21	0.07%
Total votes			30,812	100.00%

2005

2005 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2001 March 1, 2005 (general) April 12, 2005 (run-off) 2009 →
Registered	92,657
Turnout	27.51% (general) 30.44% (run-off)
Candidate Ron Littlefield Ann Coulter Dan Johnson First round 9,154 35.91% 10,784 42.31% 4,911 19.27% Runoff 15,224 54.11% 12,873 45.76% Eliminated
Mayor before election Bob Corker Republican Elected mayor Ron Littlefield Independent

The 2005 Chattanooga mayoral election was held on March 1, 2005, and on April 12, 2005 (as a run-off), to elect the mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent Republican mayor Bob Corker was eligible to run for a second term, but decided to run for U.S. Senate instead. Ann Coulter won a plurality of the vote in the first round with 42.31%, but lost the run-off election to Ron Littlefield, who earned 54.11% of the vote.

Results

General

March 1, 2005 general election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Ann Coulter	10,784	42.31%
	Nonpartisan	Ron Littlefield	9,154	35.91%
	Nonpartisan	Dan Johnson	4,911	19.27%
	Nonpartisan	Angela D. Clark	245	0.96%
	Nonpartisan	Karl D. Epperson	138	0.54%
	Nonpartisan	Eddie Bubba Eubank	95	0.37%
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Smith II	88	0.35%
	Nonpartisan	R. Buzzy Hamilton	48	0.19%
	Write-in		25	0.10%
Total votes			25,488	100.00%

Run-off

April 12, 2005 run-off election results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Ron Littlefield	15,224	54.11%
	Nonpartisan	Ann Coulter	12,873	45.76%
	Write-in		37	0.13%
Total votes			28,134	100.00%

2009

2009 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2005 March 3, 2009 2013 →
Registered	99,024
Turnout	18.08%
Candidate Ron Littlefield Rob Healy Popular vote 10,234 7,186 Percentage 57.13% 40.12%
Mayor before election Ron Littlefield Independent Elected mayor Ron Littlefield Independent

The 2009 Chattanooga mayoral election was held on March 3, 2009, to elect the next mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent independent Mayor Ron Littlefield ran for re-election and was re-elected with 57.13% of the vote.^[5]

Candidates

• Rob Healy, Chattanooga Parks and Recreation administrator
• Joe Lance, blogger (withdrew, endorsed Healy) ^[6]
• Ron Littlefield, incumbent mayor
• Thomas Smith II, perennial candidate

Results

March 3, 2009 general election results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Ron Littlefield	10,234	57.13%
	Nonpartisan	Rob Healy	7,186	40.12%
	Nonpartisan	Thomas Smith II	353	1.97%
	Nonpartisan	Joe Lance	105	0.59%
	Write-in		35	0.20%
Total votes			17,913	100.00%

2013

2013 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2009 March 5, 2013 2017 →
Turnout	16.4%
Candidate Andy Berke Guy Satterfield Popular vote 12,918 4,229 Percentage 72.28% 23.66%
Mayor before election Ron Littlefield Independent Elected mayor Andy Berke Democratic

The 2013 Chattanooga mayoral election was held on March 5, 2013, to elect the next mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent Independent Mayor Ron Littlefield was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Democratic candidate Andy Berke was elected with 72.3% of the vote, defeating Guy Satterfield.^[8]

Candidates

• Andy Berke, former member of the Tennessee Senate from district 10^[9]
• R. Chester Heathingt, former city employee^[9]
• Guy Satterfield, former city employee^[10]

Results

March 5, 2013 general election results^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Andy Berke	12,918	72.28%
	Nonpartisan	Guy Satterfield	4,229	23.66%
	Nonpartisan	R. Chester Heathingt	659	3.69%
	Write-in		67	0.37%
Total votes			17,873	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Independent

2017

2017 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2013 March 7, 2017 2021 →
Turnout	19.7%[11]
Candidate Andy Berke Larry Grohn David Crockett Popular vote 11,994 4,941 1,438 Percentage 63.87% 26.41% 7.66%
Results by city council district Berke   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%
Mayor before election Andy Berke Democratic Elected mayor Andy Berke Democratic

The 2017 Chattanooga mayoral election was held on March 7, 2017, to elect the mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Andy Berke won re-election against City Councilman Larry Grohn, former City Councilman David Crockett, and businessman Chris Long.^[12][13][14] Grohn and Crockett were aligned with the Republican Party.^[15][16]

Andy Berke won a majority of the vote in the initial round, so no runoff election was needed. This election took place alongside other 2017 Chattanooga elections, including races for City Council. Berke was sworn in to his second term on April 18, 2017.^[17]

Candidates

• Andy Berke (D), incumbent mayor^[18][19]
• David Crockett (R),^[16] former three-term Chattanooga City Council Chairman^[20]
• Larry Grohn (R),^[15] Chattanooga City Councilman^[21]
• Chris Long (I), PhD in architecture engineering^[22]

Results

March 7, 2017 general election results^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Andy Berke (incumbent)	11,994	63.87%
	Nonpartisan	Larry Grohn	4,941	26.41%
	Nonpartisan	David Crockett	1,438	7.66%
	Nonpartisan	Chris long	407	2.17%
Total votes			18,780	100.00%

2021

2021 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2017 March 2, 2021 (first round) April 13, 2021 (runoff) 2025 →

Candidate Tim Kelly Kim White First round 8,566 30.15% 8,290 29.17% Runoff 15,969 59.87% 10,662 39.97%   Candidate Wade Hinton Monty R. Bruell First round 6,110 21.50% 2,408 8.47% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

First round results by precinct Runoff results by precinct

Mayor before election Andy Berke Democratic Elected mayor Tim Kelly Independent

The 2021 Chattanooga mayoral election was held on March 2, 2021, and on April 13, 2021 (as a runoff), to elect the next mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Andy Berke was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Since there was no candidate that received a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held.^[24] In the runoff election, Independent candidate Tim Kelly was elected with 59.9% of the vote, defeating Republican candidate Kim White.^[25]

This two-round election took place alongside other 2021 Chattanooga elections, including races for City Council. Kelly was sworn in on April 19, 2021.

Candidates

Advanced to the runoff

• Tim Kelly, businessman (Independent)^[26]
• Kim White, CEO (Republican)^[27]

Eliminated in the first round

• Monty Bell
• Monty Bruell (Democratic) (endorsed Kelly)^[28]
• Lon Cartwright
• Christopher Dahl (Independent)
• D'Angelo Davis, activist (Democratic)
• Russell Gilbert Sr., councilman from the 5th district (Republican)
• Wade Hinton, attorney (Democratic) (endorsed Kelly)^[29]
• Christopher Long (Independent)
• George Ryan Love, candidate for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district in 2016 (Democratic)
• Andrew McLaren, actor (Independent)
• Erskine Oglesby, councilman from the 7th district (Republican)
• Robert Wilson
• Elenora Woods, activist (Democratic) (endorsed Kelly)^[30]

First round

First round polling

Pollster	Poll sponsor	Sample size	Margin of size	Monty Bell	Monty Bruell	Lon Cartwright	Christopher Dahl	D'Angelo Davis	Russell J. Gilbert Sr	Wade Hinton	Tim Kelly	Christopher Long	George Ryan Love	Andrew McLaren	Erskine Oglesby	Kim White	Robert Wilson	Elenora Woods	Other	Undecided
The Chattanoogan	—	2896 (LV)	±	0%	3%	0%	1%	0%	3%	8%	50%	0%	0%	1%	4%	26%	0%	5%	1%	0%
The Chattanoogan	—	3057 (LV)	±4%	1%	3%	0%	1%	1%	2%	7%	52%	1%	0%	1%	2%	25%	1%	3%	1%	0%

First round endorsements

Tim Kelly

Hamilton County Commissioners

• Chip Baker, district 2^[31]
• David Sharpe, district 6 (2018–present)^[32]

Individuals

• 70 business leaders^[33]

Labor unions

• International Association of Fire Fighters Local 820^[34]

Kim White

Labor unions

• Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #22^[35]
• International Brotherhood of Police Local 673^[35]

First round results

2021 Chattanooga mayoral election first round ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Kelly	8,566	30.15%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Kim White	8,290	29.17%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Wade Hinton	6,110	21.50%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Monty R. Bruell	2,408	8.47%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Russell J. Gilbert Sr.	889	3.13%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Elenora Woods	805	2.83%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Chris Long	491	1.73%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Erskine Oglesby Jr.	322	1.13%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Monty Dewayne Bell	157	0.55%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Robert C. Wilson	136	0.48%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Andrew McLaren	61	0.21%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	D'Angelo Davis	61	0.21%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Christopher Dahl	53	0.19%	N/A
	Write-in		38	0.13%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	George Ryan Love	18	0.06%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Lon Cartwright	10	0.04%	N/A
Total votes			28,415	100.00%

Runoff

Runoff polling

Pollster	Poll Sponsor	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of size	Tim Kelly	Kim White	Undecided
Spry Strategies	Chattanooga Times Free Press	March 29, 2021	330 (LV)	±13%	51%	36%	13%

Runoff endorsements

Tim Kelly

Hamilton County Commissioners

• Chip Baker, district 2^[31]
• David Sharpe, district 6 (2018–present)^[32]

Individuals

• 70 business leaders^[33]

Labor unions

• International Association of Fire Fighters Local 820^[34]

Kim White

Labor unions

• Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #22^[35]
• International Brotherhood of Police Local 673^[35]

Runoff results

2021 Chattanooga mayoral election runoff^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Kelly	15,969	59.87%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Kim White	10,662	39.97%	N/A
	Write-in		44	0.16%	N/A
Total votes			26,675	100.0%
	Independent gain from Democratic

2025

2025 Chattanooga mayoral election

← 2021 March 4, 2025 2029 →
Turnout	17.9% (unofficial)
Candidate Tim Kelly Chris Long Popular vote 17,356 2,750 Percentage 85.44% 13.54%
Results by precinct Kelly:   >90%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70% Tie:   50%   No votes
Mayor before election Tim Kelly Independent Elected mayor Tim Kelly Independent

The 2025 Chattanooga mayoral election will be held on March 4, 2025, to elect the mayor of Chattanooga. Incumbent Independent mayor Tim Kelly won re-election to a second term in office.^[37][38] All Chattanooga municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but most candidates are known to be affiliated with political parties.

Background

On March 14, 2023, there was a proposal to make city elections aligned with county and state and national elections alongside city council term limits. However, it was rejected by the city council, making the mayor and council elections continue to be stand alone in the future.^[39][40]

Candidates

Declared

The following candidates were approved for the March ballot:^[41]

• Tim Kelly, incumbent mayor (party affiliation: Independent)^[42]
• Chris Long, candidate for mayor in 2021 (party affiliation: Independent)^[41]

Endorsements

Declined to endorse

• Hamilton County Republican Party^[43]

Results

2025 Chattanooga mayoral election (unofficial results)^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Tim Kelly	17,356	85.44%
	Nonpartisan	Chris Long	2,750	13.54%
	Write-in		208	1.02%
Total votes			20,314	100.00%

See also

• Elections in Tennessee
• Political party strength in Tennessee
• Government of Tennessee
• List of mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Timeline of Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Mayoral elections in Clarksville, Tennessee
• Mayoral elections in Knoxville, Tennessee
• Mayoral elections in Murfreesboro, Tennessee