Nashville Mayoral Election: Briley Drives To Comfortable Win

NASHVILLE, TN -- Incumbent Mayor David Briley took a strong lead after early-voting totals were reported in Thursday’s election and never looked back, sailing to a comfortable win and avoiding a June runoff.

Briley earned 54 percent of the vote with conservative commentator and former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain in a distant second with 23 percent. At-large Councilmember Erica Gilmore finished third with 5.6 percent, just ahead of former conservative talk radio host Ralph Bristol and State Rep. Harold Love, both with about 5.3 percent. See the full results here.

Briley will serve as mayor until August 2019, filling out what's left of Megan Barry's term after her resignation. Elected as vice mayor in 2015, Barry’s fall pushed Briley into Metro’s top spot.

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It seemed likely a runoff was unavoidable with a crowded field of 13 candidates that, beyond Swain and Bristol, included activist jeff obafemi carr, who was the public face of the ultimately successful opposition to the transit referendum, along with At-Large Councilmember Erica Gilmore and State Rep. Harold Love.

Briley’s grandfather, Beverly, was the first mayor of Metro Nashville but the grandson did something his parkway-namesake predecessor never did: won a mayoralty without a runoff.

In the special election to fill the District 1 council vacancy, Jonathan Hall and Judy Cummings will head to a June 28 runoff after neither secured the necessary 50 percent plus-one.

Fatigue from the transit vote earlier this month and the short campaign forced by the snap election were expected to combine for a record-low turnout. Fewer than 10 percent of active voters cast a ballot during the two-week early voting period, though the county's election chief upped his prediction late Thursday, saying day-of voters were more numerous than he anticipated.

Image via Office of the Mayor