2019 Nashville mayoral election

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.^[2] 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.^[3] Cooper won the runoff definitively with 69 percent of the vote.^[4]

2019 Nashville mayoral election

← 2018 (special) August 1, 2019 (first round) September 12, 2019 (runoff) Officially nonpartisan 2023 →
Turnout	23.64% (first round) 2.39 pp 20.96% (runoff) 2.68 pp[1]
Candidate John Cooper David Briley Party Democratic Democratic First round 35,676 34.98% 25,786 25.28% Runoff 62,440 69.12% 27,281 30.20%   Candidate Carol Swain John Ray Clemmons Party Republican Democratic First round 22,387 21.95% 16,391 16.07% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated
Cooper:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      60–70% Briley:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50% Swain:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50% Clemmons:      30–40%      Tie      No data First round results by precinct Cooper:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      <90% Briley:      50–60%      60–70%      No data Runoff results by precinct
Mayor before election David Briley Democratic Elected mayor John Cooper Democratic

All Nashville municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but candidates can be affiliated with a political party.

Candidates

Advanced to runoff

• David Briley, incumbent Mayor of Nashville^[2]
• John Cooper, member of the Metropolitan Council^[5]

Eliminated in first round

• Jimmy Lawrence, small business owner
• Julia Clark-Johnson, professional driving administrator and instructor^[6]
• John Ray Clemmons, state representative for the 55th district^[7]
• Harold "Hollywood Howie" Garoutte, retired U.S. Army sergeant and owner and operator of Southern Country Radio^[8]
• Carol M. Swain, former professor at Vanderbilt University^[9]
• Jon Sewell, small business owner and 2018 candidate ^[10]
• Bernie Cox, musician ^[11]
• Jody Ball, businessman and GOP candidate in US-5 ^[12]
• Nolan Starnes, community activist ^[13]

Potential

• Jeff Obafemi Carr, community organizer^[14]
• Erica Gilmore, member of the Metropolitan Council^[14]
• Daron Hall, Sheriff of Davidson County^[14]
• James Shaw Jr., hero of the Nashville Waffle House shooting^[15]

Declined

• Megan Barry, former Mayor of Nashville^[14]
• Bill Freeman, real estate developer and owner of the Nashville Scene, Nashville Post, and Nfocus^[16]
• Harold Love, state representative from the 58th district^[14]
• Bob Mendes, member of the Metropolitan Council^[14]
• Renata Soto, nonprofit executive and former director of Conexión Américas^[14]
• Jeffrey Napier, U.S. Army veteran and former mechanic for Metro Nashville Government^[14]

Results

First round

2019 Nashville mayoral election results (first round)^[17]

Candidate		Votes	%
John Cooper		35,676	34.98
David Briley (incumbent)		25,786	25.28
Carol Swain		22,387	21.95
John Ray Clemmons		16,391	16.07
Julia Clark-Johnson		404	0.40
Bernie Cox		337	0.33
Jimmy Lawrence		305	0.30
Jody Ball		280	0.27
Jon Sewell		224	0.22
Nolan Starnes		129	0.13
Write-in		83	0.08
Total votes		102,002	100

Second round

2019 Nashville mayoral election results (runoff)^[18]

Candidate		Votes	%
John Cooper		62,440	69.12
David Briley (incumbent)		27,281	30.20
Write-in		621	0.69
Total votes		90,342	100.00

See also

• 2019 Jackson, Tennessee mayoral election
• 2019 Knoxville, Tennessee mayoral election
• 2019 Memphis, Tennessee mayoral election

External links

• Briley campaign website
• Clark-Johnson campaign website Archived November 25, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• Clemmons campaign website Archived May 11, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• Swain campaign website Archived December 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Cooper campaign website
• Sewell campaign website Archived March 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine