Briley Leads Swain 57% to 23% After Early Voting Results Reported in Nashville Special Mayoral Election

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Mayor David Briley took a big lead over former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain in early voting results in the Nashville special mayoral election reported by the Davidson County Election Commission at 7:15 pm, 15 minutes after polls closed. Vote totals in early voting, by top candidates, were as follows: David Briley–20,140  (57 percent) Carol Swain–8,772   (23 percent) Erica Gilmore–1,658 (5 percent) Harold Love–1,691 (5 percent) jeff obafemi carr–1,251 votes (4 percent) Ralph Bristol–1,895 (5 percent) Total–35,508 Election day turnout was reportedly low. Results from the city’s 160 precincts are expected to be fully reported by about 11 pm tonight. Early voting results in the May 1 transit plan referendum election were almost the same as the final results, when the plan was overwhelmingly rejected by Nashville/Davidson County voters, 64 percent to 36 percent. If the final results tonight reflect early voting results, Acting Mayor Briley will avoid a runoff with Swain and be elected mayor, serving out the remaining 1 year and 3 months of Megan Barry’s term. For up-to-the-minute updates on the latest election results from the City of Nashville, CLICK HERE.        

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Briley Pushes $125 Million Flood Wall in ‘Residential’ Downtown Nashville While Firefighters, Police Get Pinched on Raises

Nashville Acting Mayor David Briley has resurrected failed plans for a flood wall in downtown, wanting to spend $125 million the city does not have. The latest big ticket item on Briley’s wish list comes days before the special mayoral election on Thursday. Former mayors Megan Barry and Karl Dean failed to get the project approved, The Tennessean said. That is because some City Council members wanted to focus on mitigation efforts in residential areas following the 2010 flood. Metro Water Services Director Scott Potter is trying to sell the flood wall by calling downtown another residential area, the newspaper said. The original flood wall price tag in 2015 was $110 million. Briley has added the wall to the city’s proposed capital improvements budget, which the council will look at next month. The City Council is not exactly rolling in cash — it is considering a proposal to raise property taxes by 50 cents as The Tennessee Star reported earlier this week. News4 I-Team recently ran a story saying former Mayor Dean used $7.4 million in HUD disaster relief money to pay for design and engineering work for riverfront development, including Ascend Ampitheater. You can read more about that report on…

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Early Voting Turnout in Nashville Special Mayoral Election Jumped to More Than 5,000 on Thursday

Early voting turnout in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election jumped to 5,194 on Thursday, the largest single day early voting turnout so far. As was the case on Tuesday, when the previous one day high of 3,537 was set, all 11 early voting locations were open until 7 pm. But with just two more days of early voting left, total turnout is still on track to come in at less than half of the early voting turnout for the May 1 transit plan referendum election, where voters overwhelmingly rejected the $9 billion plan by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. In 12 days of early voting so far, just more than 20,000 residents of Nashville/Davidson County have cast their ballots. But on the last two days of early voting all 11 early voting poll locations will close at 5:30 pm today and 4:30 pm on Saturday. The loss of those extra hours means it is unlikely that turnout on either day will exceed Thursday’s one day high of 5,194. The last three days of early voting in the 14 day early voting period of the May 1 transit plan referendum election saw the heaviest turnout–37 percent of…

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Early Voting Continues to Lag in Nashville Special Mayoral Election with Less Than 9,000 Votes Cast and Only 5 More Days Left

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Early voting continues to lag in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election, as only 2,605 votes were cast in Nashville/Davidson County on Monday. Over nine days of early voting, only 8,419 votes have been cast. With just five days of early voting left between now and Saturday, the total number of early votes cast will be about 22,000 if the remaining days average 2,600 votes a day. Typically, however, the last three days of early voting see an uptick in activity. If that happens, early voting totals could reach about 25,000. You can see the daily breakdown by polling location, as provided by the Davidson County Election Commission to The Tennessee Star here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EV-Daily-Report-May-24-2018-Mayor-Dist-1.pdf” title=”EV Daily Report-May 24, 2018 Mayor & Dist 1″] Those numbers, however, pale in comparison to the 59,000 early votes cast in the May 1 transit plan referendum, which Nashville/Davidson County voters rejected overwhelmingly by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. That election saw about 123,000 total votes cast. If current voting trends continue, the total number of votes cast are likely to come in at a range between a low of 46,000 and a high of 53,000. All estimates within that range…

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Conservative Talker Dennis Prager Endorses Carol Swain for Nashville Mayor

On Monday, nationally syndicated radio host and PragerU Founder Dennis Prager endorsed former Vanderbilt professor Dr. Carol M. Swain for Mayor of Nashville. In a short video, Prager said of Dr. Swain and her candidacy: I’d just like to say to voters in Nashville, Tennessee, that you have a rare opportunity to have, as your Mayor, one of the most wonderful people living in America today. I very rarely say such things and if I do, I really mean them. This woman is not only good, kind, and brilliant – she has the most rare trait of all: she’s courageous. With she as you Mayor, your city will blossom. I have met a lot of wonderful people. She is about as good as they come. Good luck Nashville; and good luck to the Predators, too. Since Swain announced, she has garnered several high profile endorsements, among them are radio legend and businessman Dick Bott, bestselling author and financial expert Dave Ramsey, Churchill Mortgage founder Mike Hardwick, Fox and Friends host and former Concerned Veterans for America spokesman Pete Hegseth, and bestselling author and conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza. As The Tennessee Star has reported: However, momentum appears to be on Swain’s side. In…

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