Blue Dot, Red Hot

Good afternoon, everyone. Davidson County’s May 5 primary results... State releases proposed map with new Congressional District lines... Charter Commission rejects renewed effort to ban auto racing at Fairgrounds Nashville, for now... And much more!

The Undoing of the West Join us May 21st for a discussion with Vauban Books and writer Nathan Pinkoski for a discussion about French writer Jean Raspail's novel The Camp of Saints. (Buy Ticket)

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The unofficial numbers are in: here are May 5th's primary winners

From Megan Podsiedlik

Yesterday’s results in Davidson County’s May 5 primary elections are effectively decisive, given that there won’t be a single Republican challenger in August’s general election. Based on unofficial numbers, just under 11 percent of active voters secured victories for Democrats participating in competitive primary races. Roughly 300 Republican primary ballots were pulled for write-ins.

✹ Competitive Races

Judgeships The highest vote count was in the race for Division III Criminal Court Judge, where Dawn Deaner—endorsed by state Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville)—ousted incumbent Jim Todd, who was appointed by Governor Bill Lee to the position last year. In the primary for Division III’s Circuit Court judgeship, Corletra Mance also upset incumbent Bethany Peery Glandorf. That said, Division VI General Sessions Judge Jodie Ann Bell kept her seat with a decisive victory.

School Board The incumbents in both competitive Metro Nashville Public Schools Board races kept their seats. District 4 Member Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, who was also endorsed by Behn, won reelection with a decisive victory. District 6 Member Cheryl Mayes also retained her position, beating out her most competitive opponent, former board member Fran Bush, by 980 votes.

Clerks Current Circuit Court Clerk Joseph P. Day narrowly clinched a victory over challenger Howard Jones. Former councilmember Sharon Hurt beat her most competitive opponent, MNPS Board Chair Freda Player, by 2,821 votes to replace longtime Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn.

✹ Non-competitive races

School Board Member District 2 Rachael Anne Elrod
School Board Member District 8 Erin O'Hara Block
Public Defender Martesha Johnson
County Trustee Erica Gilmore
Sheriff Daron Hall
Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry
Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews Jr.
Register of Deeds Karen Johnson

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What Horrors We Wrought In 1973, French writer Jean Raspail published one of the most controversial novels of the 20th century. His novel, The Camp of Saints, has been consistently censored throughout its history.

Vauban Books recently published a new translation of the French story, accompanied by a lucid introduction by writer Nathan Pinkoski. Join us as we discuss the legacy of this controversial novel and what it says about the West.

Get your ticket

This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer, Nashville, and priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.

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TN SPECIAL SESSION: REDRAWING THE MAP

✍️ State leadership appears to have reached a compromise after wrestling over how to redraw Tennessee’s Congressional map. Much of the chatter has been dominated by how the legislature’s supermajority plans to rework the map in favor of Republicans. District 9 is Tennessee’s only U.S. House of Representatives seat held by a Democrat, but the newly released rendering would also impact a few other races.

Proposed new map via Chris Davis

The proposed map splits Shelby County three ways, placing parts of the Democratic stronghold in Districts 5, 8, and 9. Tennessee’s other prominent blue dot, Davidson County, is currently divided in a similar fashion between Districts 5, 6, and 7. The new map would keep Nashville’s three-way split but divvy it amongst Districts 4, 6, and 7.

Current map via TN Comptroller

Congressman Steve Cohen (District 9), who is Tennessee’s only Democratic U.S. Representative, was flanked by Stacey Abrams during today’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. Both argued against the change.

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✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH

New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)

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HEADLINES

🏎 Metro Charter Revision Commission rejects renewed effort to ban auto racing at Fairgrounds Nashville. On Monday, after 30 minutes of discussion, the commission disapproved a revised version of the amendment due to remaining issues with language clarity. In anticipation that the anti-auto racing group will come back with yet another revision to get the issue on November’s ballot, the commission scheduled another meeting for May 15. (Metro Nashville Network)
🤳 DOJ returns Rep. Andy Ogles’ phone, destroys information obtained during FBI investigation. “That decision comes nearly two years after Congressman Ogles filed emergency motions for the return of his property, asserting his protections as a Member of Congress under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause,” Litson PLLC said. (WSMV)
🗳 Andy Marshall Wins GOP Primary for Williamson County Mayor. Andy Marshall, CEO and owner of the Franklin-based company A. Marshall Hospitality, won Tuesday night’s Republican primary election for Williamson County Mayor, according to unofficial election results. Marshall now advances to the August 6 general election, where he will not face a Democratic opponent. (TN Star)
🏛 Randy Allen Defeats Incumbent Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr in GOP Primary. Randy Allen, COO of the Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity, defeated incumbent Mayor Joe Carr in Tuesday night’s Republican primary election for Rutherford County Mayor, according to unofficial results. On the Democratic side, no candidate qualified for the ballot, leaving only write-in votes recorded, totaling 416. (TN Star)