MONEY TALKS: 2023 Election Financial Disclosures
It’s our favorite time before an election–-financial disclosures came out this week, and now we know exactly who’s bankrolling who as we jump into early voting. While the 121 candidates continue to cobble together a pathway towards victory, their Q2 war chests are now being scrutinized.
This morning, the Nashville Banner took a deep dive into PAC spending and candidate cash across all council races. One group that appears with some frequency is A Better Nashville, which donated $70,000 to a fair amount of council members, both districted and at-large. The Nashville Scene also released a piece dissecting the $6.5 million raised by our 12 mayoral candidates.
From Peter Frampton’s backing of Heidi Campbell to conservative economist Art Laffer’s support of Matt Wiltshire, more stakeholders have come out of the woodwork to weigh in on who they think will restore Music City’s greatness. Here are a few other endorsements from various sources that may help you make your final ballot choices.
The Davidson County Republican Party has identified these candidates as favorable selections for conservative voters:
Mayor - Alice Rolli and Natisha Brooks
Council-At-Large - Tony Chapman, Stephen Downs, Gilbert Ramirez, Deloris Vandivort
District 4 - Davette Blalock
District 10 - Jennifer Webb
District 15 - Dan Jones
District 25 - David Ackerman
District 23 - Lisa Williams
District 31 - Dia Hart
District 34 - Luke Elliott
TN House District 51– David Hooven
TN House District 52 – Laura Nelson
The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition has also listed endorsements on their website. (It’s worth noting that the TIRRC is supported by Stand Up Nashville, a local activist group originally co-founded by Odessa Kelly. In 2022, questions regarding a conflict of interest due to current Councilmember Delishia Porterfield’s role as director of leadership and advocacy for the group were raised during discussions on the council floor.)
While we’ve included it before, it’s worth re-upping Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood’s slate of preferred candidates. Early on in the race, the organization’s political arm sent out a questionnaire to suss out their proponents. Yesterday, Progressive PAC Nashville Justice League released a list of endorsements. Meanwhile, Jigsaw, a strategic consulting firm you may recognize from their involvement in the Titans Stadium deal, has contributed $3,000 to Matt Wiltshire. Interestingly, the lobbying firm is also a sponsor of the nonpartisan organization Women in Numbers who is endorsing Heidi Campbell.
As far as individual endorsements go, Rep. Gloria Johnson has also endorsed Heidi Campbell, while Telisha Cobb, progressive activist and wife of Chris Cobb, is backing Jeff Yarbro. Rounding out the list, notorious DA Glenn Funk has endorsed Vivian Wilhoite.