Election Day Recap
🗳️ Trump routes Harris · Transit plan passes · Vouchers back on the docket · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone.
Trump's historic victory late last night made for a great Election Night party. If you attended, thanks for joining us. As of this moment, Trump has secured both the electoral college and the popular vote as the GOP took control of the Senate. The House is still a toss-up as vote tallying extends uneasily into the week across a number of states.
Scott Jennings had a salient monologue that sums up the signal the Trump's decisive victory indicates. "I'm interpreting the results tonight as the revenge of the regular, working class American," he told a disgruntled panel on CNN last night.
But in addition to the echoes of 2016's "silent majority," Trump quadrupled down on running a campaign specifically targeting men. His appearances on the podcasts of mega-influencers Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and the Nelk Boys drew out a specifically male audience. Additionally, the general figure both Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, cut against Kamala Harris and the bizarre simulated masculinity of Tim Walz made this even more apparent. I could boil this memetic understanding of the choice for a man as "only women vote Democrat."
As the dust settles and the tearful social media posts from anti-Trumpers dwindle, we'll be well on our way to four very interesting years.
Megan's got details on the local races below.
Onward.
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🚍 Here WeGo “Tonight, the voters spoke decisively, and we are finally going to be able to move forward on an issue that impacts us all, regardless of our ZIP code, income, or political affiliation,” Mayor O’Connell said last night while celebrating the victory of his Choose How You Move plan. “For the first time in our city’s history, we will have dedicated revenue for transportation improvements, and that’s going to allow us to finally chip away at our traffic and cost of living issues.”
The vote total was, indeed, decisive: 183,108 Nashvillians pulled the lever in favor of O’Connell’s transit plan. Given the draw of the presidential election, his referendum received about 110,000 more votes than he secured for his own mayoral victory a year ago. Though turnout was exponentially higher compared to last fall, the support was noticeably similar. Around 64 percent of voters chose O’Connell as their next mayor in 2023, and 65.5 percent backed his transit initiative this November, perhaps because he tapped into the same unlikely pair of progressive and business coalitions who supported his mayoral bid.
🗳️ The Rest Of The Ballot While Democrats swept the local races in Davidson County, there was still some strong turnout for Republicans. About 14,000 Nashvillians cast their vote for Republican candidate Jennifer Frensley Webb in the District 50 TN House race, compared to nearly 16,500 voters who sealed the victory for Democratic incumbent Bo Mitchell. In District 60’s House race, the split was almost identical for Republican candidate Chad Bobo, who lost to the Democratic candidate, Shaundelle Brooks.
Check out the results for all of the contested races in Davidson County here. Election results across Tennessee can be found here, and the full breakdown of Davidson County can be found here.
🎓 School Vouchers Back On The Docket True to their word, Tennessee Republican leadership filed a revamped school voucher bill following yesterday’s election. Though the state legislature didn’t get the governor’s initiative over the finish line this spring, school choice advocates might benefit from the momentum of Donald Trump’s presidential victory during next year’s General Assembly. "We're going to move education back to the states," the soon-to-be president said on Oct. 5 during his commemorative return to Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to State Affairs, while many of the elements in the new bill remain the same, allowing students to enroll in any public school regardless of their zip code seems to be off the table. Similar to the old version, the legislation includes a budgeted plan to support 20,000 vouchers across the state, and would require schools that accept vouchers to conduct standardized tests.
DEVELOPMENT
- Initial designs on new performing arts center on Nashville's East Bank near completion (Tennessean)
- Work set to begin on Dolly Parton hotel (Post)
- Capitol View slated for ramen restaurant (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 WMOT'S Wired In: The Wild Feathers & The McCrary Sisters @ Riverside Revival, 7p, Info
🎙️ Billie Eilish @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, Info
🎸 David Shaw w/ Crowe Boys @ The Basement East, 8p, $38.02, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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