2018 Nashville mayoral special election

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]

2018 Nashville mayoral special election

← 2015 May 24, 2018 Officially nonpartisan 2019 →
Turnout	20.71% 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

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]

Candidates

Fourteen candidates nominated for the mayoral election. David Briley was the sole candidate in support of Nashville's transit plan, which was decided in a referendum on May 1.^[8][9] Nashville voters overwhelmingly rejected the plan, by about a 2–1 margin.^[10]

Declared

• Carlin J. Alford
• David Briley
• Ralph Bristol^[11]
• Jeff Obafemi Carr
• Julia Clark-Johnson
• Roy Dale
• Erica Gilmore
• Albert Hacker
• David L. Hiland
• Harold Love
• Jeffrey A. Napier
• Jon Sewell
• Carol M. Swain^[12]
• Ludye N. Wallace^[13]

Results

Election results
May 24, 2018^[14]

Candidate		Votes	%
David Briley		44,845	54.44
Carol M. Swain		18,850	22.89
Erica Gilmore		4,608	5.59
Harold M. Love		4,349	5.28
Ralph Bristol		4,341	5.27
Jeff Obafemi Carr		3,790	4.60
David L. Hiland		325	0.39
Ludye N. Wallace		324	0.39
Caril J. Alford		243	0.30
Albert Hacker		169	0.21
Julia Clark-Johnson		168	0.20
Jeffery A. Napier		141	0.17
Jon Sewell		93	0.11
Write-in		122	0.15
Total votes		82,369	100.00

See also

• Let's Move Nashville
• 2018 Tennessee elections