Below is the election night play-by-play as the polls closed and the results came in. Scroll down to the “original post” at the bottom to find some context for the races being decided.
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Updated at 10:03 p.m.:
By 36 Votes, Pinkston Keeps Board Seat
Just 36 votes separated Metro school board member Will Pinkston and challenger Jackson Miller. Both men
spent heavily on the race, with Miller having both a fundraising edge and help from an independent campaign by Stand for Children.
Miller appealed to voters as
a uniter, accusing Pinkston of corrupting the board with his abrasive style
Bryn Sierra, the mother of an 18-month-old, considered Miller, but then she talked to her teacher friends, who all seemed to be speaking up for Pinkston.
“Even if his words and his fight may have rubbed me the wrong way, because that’s not how I would do it, it’s been appreciated,” she said. “And it’s been effective.”
— Blake Farmer
Updated at 10:00 p.m.:
Election Day Surge Finishes Council Race
The political roller coaster ride has ended for Nashville’s Metro Council District 1. Voters saw their last representative resign amid a scandal. But they’ve now chosen attorney Nick Leonardo to represent northern Davidson County
Last year, Leonardo lost by 38 votes. Then he watched as the winner, Loniel Greene, was injured in a shooting before he resigned and was indicted.
That sent Leonardo back into a three-way competition to fill the seat.
Although early voting was close, Leonardo surged on Election Day, capturing 57 percent of the vote. His closest challenger was schoolteacher William “Bug” Mason, with 37 percent.
— Tony Gonzalez
Updated at 9:57 p.m.:
After Big Spending On Challengers, School Board Stays Put
The incumbents on the Metro School Board all kept their seats tonight, despite heavy out-of-state spending from charter school advocates for most of their opponents. Some voters saw the races as a referendum on the privately-run schools.
Yves Toleno, who is a video engineer, voted to keep board member Will Pinkston in office, primarily based on Pinkston’s skepticism of charter school expansion. Challenger Jackson Miller, who came within 1 point of a victory, was seen as more friendly to charter schools.
“While I appreciate and approve of charter schools in concept, I’m concerned that it really is just taking money away from public schools, and this is my district,” Toleno said. “This is where my kids are going to end up going to school.”
Stand For Children spent unprecedented sums —
at least $200,000 — to help one candidate in each race. The only one who pulled out a victory was school board chair Sharon Gentry.
Even in the open seat representing District 5 in East Nashville, the charter-backed candidate lost by a wide margin to former teacher Christiane
Buggs
, who was supported by the teachers union.
Board member Jill Speering beat Jane Grimes Meneely 58 to 40 percent. Amy Frogge won by the largest margin — nearly two-to-one over Thom Druffel.
East Nashville voter Ann Green says she has mixed opinions, but takes issue with the outside money.
“I think there’s a belief that some of the support that’s coming for these charter schools are coming from areas that don’t even know the neighborhood and don’t really know the context for what they’re pushing through,” Green says.
One voter in favor of charter schools was Shandi Paro, whose husband serves on the board for one of the city’s charters.
“It’s taking care of a lot of people that get left behind,” she says. “So I don’t see any problems with it.”
— Blake Farmer
Updated at 9:13 p.m.:
Council Race Teeters On Possible Run-Off
In Metro Council District 1, Nick Leonardo has opened a 169-vote lead — breaking the 50 percent threshold he would need to win and avoid a run-off. As of 9 p.m., 4 of 6 precincts have reported.
As of early voting, neither Leonardo nor closest competitor William “Bug” Mason had earned a majority.
The vote now stands at Leonardo with 1,201 votes and Mason with 1,032.
— Tony Gonzalez
Updated at 9:10 p.m.:
Pinkston Widens Lead In District 7
The only school board race that was even close was Will Pinkston’s and with almost every precinct reporting, he still holds a 52-48 lead over Jackson Miller.
Pinkston came out of the early voting period with a slightly larger lead.
But this week, The Tennessean published an
article that was widely shared, accusing Pinkston of making threats against former district officials and fellow Democratic operatives. And that might have had an effect on voters, because Election Day results were much closer.
— Blake Farmer
Updated at 9:04 p.m.:
Starrett Concedes To DesJarlais
Grant Starrett conceded to U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais shortly before 9 p.m., as the three-term Congressman appeared to pull away.
I just called to congratulate Congressman DesJarlais, and I wish him the best in his work as a Representative for our district.— Grant Starrett (@GrantforTN)
August 5, 2016
DesJarlais will face Democratic nominee Steven Reynolds in the general election.
— Chas Sisk
Updated at 8:58 p.m.:
Close Race For Fincher Replacement
Minutes after incumbent Republican Congressman Stephen Fincher made the surprise announcement this spring that he would not run for a fourth term in the 8th Congressional District, former Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn and former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff both announced they would be throwing their hats into the ring.
Now that race appears to be down to the two of them — with Kustoff leading by nearly 2 points with just more than
50,000 votes counted, according to
state results.
There are 13 Republicans vying for the position in the general election.
— Natasha Senjanovic
Updated at 8:40 p.m.:
Black On Track To Win GOP Primary
Congressman Diane Black appears to have easily defeated former state Representative Joe Carr in the Republican primary.
The three-term member of Congress took more than 60 percent of the early vote in a campaign that had turned very personal.
One big issue was Carr’s residency. He lives just outside the 6th
Congressional District in Rutherford County.
That was too far for Gary Hudgens.
“Yeah, it bothers me,” he said. “If you’re going to run for office, be in the district that you’re supposed to be in. I mean you can’t represent somebody and not be in that district. I mean, you wouldn’t care.”
On the Democratic side, David Kent leads Flo Matheson by a two-to-one margin.
–
Chas Sisk
Third District Rejects Georgia Resident
It was an unsuccessful campaign for the Georgia resident running for Congress in East Tennessee. Allan Levene
was not only run
ning out of state, he had also promised to share secret financial advice with campaign donors if he won.
But Levene
did not come close to unseating Rep. Chuck Fleischmann
, and he didn’t have many people take him up on the offer either. As of mid-July, he had just $75 dollars in contributions.
–
Emily Siner
Updated at 8:30 p.m.:
No Get-Rich-Quick Winner In East Tennessee
It was an unsuccessful campaign for the Georgia resident running for Congress in East Tennessee.
Allan Levene was not only running out of state, he had
also promised to share secret financial advice with campaign donors if he won.
But Levene did not come close to unseating Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, and he didn’t have many people take him up on the offer either. As of mid-July, he had just $75 dollars in contributions.
— Emily Siner
Updated at 8:10 p.m.:
Dickerson Declares
State Sen. Steve Dickerson has claimed victory in the district 20 Republican primary. The incumbent held a two-to-one lead over fellow physician Ron McDow
. He celebrated the victory at Fox’s Donut Den in Green Hills.
Dickerson is the only Republican representing Nashville in the State Senate. He will face attorney Erin Coleman in November’s general election. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
-Blake Farmer
DesJarlais Remains Ahead In 4th Congressional District
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais
widened his lead slightly to 4 percentage points following the release of early voting results in his home of Marion County.
DesJarlais has 49.7 percent of the vote to lawyer Grant Starrett’s
45.4 percent.
Starrett And DesJarlais In Tight Race
Attorney Grant Starrett
is giving U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais
a tough fight for re-election.
DesJarlais held a slim, 2-point lead based on partial early voting returns. Rutherford County, which holds about two-fifths of the district’s voters, had not yet reported its early voting figures.
U.S. Rep. Diane Black, on the other hand, looks to be firmly in control of her primary. She led challenger Joe Carr, 71 percent to 24 percent, although populous Wilson County had not released its early voting figures.
Meanwhile, the race to replace U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher
appears to be wide open. George Flinn
holds a 7-point lead over David Kustoff
, but Shelby County has not yet reported early voting.
Updated at 7:25 p.m.:
Judges Likely To Be Retained
Ten high-ranking Tennessee judges are likely to continue in their positions, according to early voting totals.
In the choice between “retain” or “replace,” voters are clearly choosing retain — at a rate of about 66 percent — for the following judges:
Tennessee Supreme Court: Jeffrey Bivins, Holly Kirby, and Roger Page
Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Division: Kenny Armstrong, Brandon Gibson, and Arnold Goldin
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Division: Robert Montgomery, Timothy Easter, Robert Holloway Jr., and J. Ross Dyer
— Tony Gonzalez
No Surprise For Davidson County Property Assessor
Vivian Wilhoite, a former Metro councilwoman, will officially become the Davidson County property assessor. Wilhoite, who won an upset victory in the Democratic primary in March, did not face an opponent in the county election.
She garnered 97 percent of early votes, according to the Davidson County Election Commission.
The assessor position is for four years. Wilhoite replaces George Rooker, Jr.
— Tony Gonzalez
Updated at 7:16 p.m.
Several incumbent state lawmakers take early lead, but Durham trails
State Rep. Charles Sargent holds a big lead over challenger Steve Gawrys after early voting, according to results
posted to social media by the Franklin Home Page.
The Brentwood Republican took more than 66 percent of the early vote to Gawrys’ 30 percent. Terrence Smith was third at 3 percent.
State Sen. Steve Dickerson holds a similar lead over his Republican challenger, Ron McDow. Dickerson took 66 percent of the early vote to McDow’s 33 percent.
On the Democratic side, Nashville Rep. Harold Love Jr. appears to be in command of his primary. Love took 85 percent of the early vote, over Ellen Leonard-Pugh and Jeff Davidson.
One incumbent that seems certain to lose based on the early voting returns is
state Rep. Jeremy Durham. Sam Whitson led the Franklin Republican 82 percent to 13 percent after early voting.
Durham suspended his campaign last month.
— Chas Sisk
Updated at 7:11 p.m.:
Incumbents have comfortable leads in Metro School Board races
With early voting numbers, board chair Sharon Dixon Gentry is leading with 56 percent of the vote over Janette Carter. Jill Speering has a 19-point advantage over Jane Grimes Meneely. Will Pinkston is the closest of the incumbents but still has an 8-point lead over challenger Jackson Miller. Amy Frogge has a full 2-to-1 lead over Thom Druffel.
— Blake Farmer
Updated at 7:07 p.m.:
Close Race For Metro Council District 1
With only early vote totals reported as of 7 p.m., Nick Leonardo leads the three-way race for Metro Council District 1 by 14 votes. Leonardo has 944 votes. He leads over schoolteacher William “Bug” Mason (930 votes) and pastor Rueben Dockery (113 votes).
This is the only council race on the ballot, and follows the resignation of Loniel Greene, who won the seat, but was soon injured in a shooting and later indicted on coercion and perjury charges.
Last year, Greene won by 38 votes over attorney Nick Leonardo.
The race to replace Greene appeared to
fuel early voting numbers, as the Bordeaux Branch Library led all precincts during the advanced voting period, with 3,671 voters.
Voter Vera Finney told WPLN she wants the winner held to the highest standard.
“We need to put a man in there that’s going to be for all the people and not just for himself.”
— Tony Gonzalez
Updated at 7:03 p.m.
Four-Way Contest For Metro School Board District 5
Christane Buggs has a sizable lead for Metro School Board District 5 after early voting. Buggs had 906 votes to Miranda Christy’s 513.
The four-way race also shows early voting ballots for Corey Gathings (159 votes) and Erica Lanier (152 votes).
The district seat opened after board member Elissa Kim decided not to run again.
The district includes parts of East Nashville and downtown, along with a stretch of Charlotte Pike, along with Edgehill and the J.C. Napier housing complex.
— Tony Gonzalez
Original post:
What’s At Stake In This Election
Congressional primaries are the highlight of today’s ballot, but school board races are unusually intense.
Attorney Grant Starrett
hopes to upset U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais in the 4th Congressional District, which stretches from Rutherford County to the Chattanooga suburbs. Meanwhile, former state Rep. Joe Carr is trying to defeat U.S. Rep. Diane Black in the 6th Congressional District, which includes Nashville’s northern and eastern suburbs.
But what’s been getting many people to turn out are the contests farther down the ballot. School board races have been intense in Davidson and Williamson counties. Even in Rutherford County, many voters say they came out specifically for the school board.
“I’ve been in Murfreesboro all of my life. Went to school, graduated here. I’m the mother of three girls, six grandkids,” Sherry Clark said shortly after casting her ballot at Central Magnet High School. “I just want to make sure we the best person in to take care of our kids.”
August marks the general election for local offices. Primary winners today in the races for Congress, the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives will be on the ballot again in November, though in many cases unopposed.
Here are some of the other races we’ll be tracking this evening:
* TN House District 65 GOP primary: Sam Whitson and Stacey Givens challenge state Rep. Jeremy Durham, who suspended his campaign last month. The winner faces Democrat Holly McCall.
* TN House District 61 GOP primary: Rep. Charles Sargent faces Steve Gawrys and Terrence Smith. The winner has no Democratic opponent in the fall.
* TN House District 56, Democratic primary: Chris Moth versus Sydney Rogers, with the winner taking on House Speaker Beth Harwell in November.
* TN Senate District 20, GOP primary: Sen. Steve Dickerson tries to fend off a well-funded challenge from fellow physician Ron McDow. Erin Coleman is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
* TN Senate District 14, GOP primary: Sen. Jim Tracy faces challenges from Steve Land and Matt Randolph. The Democrat in the race is Gayle Jordan.
* TN Senate District 4, GOP primary: State Rep. Jon Lundberg and former state Rep. Tony Shipley are seen as the leaders of a four-person field. The winner will fill the seat of retiring Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey.
* U.S. House District 8, GOP primary: 13 Republican candidates are running to replace retiring GOP Rep. Stephen Fincher. The ballot includes state Sen. Brian Kelsey, former federal prosecutor David Kustoff, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and George Flinn, who vied for the seat six years ago.
— Chas Sisk
Early Voting Turnout Was Down
Voter turnout has been low across Tennessee this election cycle.
During early voting the state recorded 281,269 ballots. While that’s a healthy count, it fell far short of the record set in 2012 for a comparable election (310,504 early ballots).
In Davidson County, numbers from the state show Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 2-to-1 ratio during early voting.
The opposite was true statewide, with Republicans doubling the turnout of Democrats.
(See
statewide vote totals here
.
)
“I think what people are failing to realize is that it starts with our local elections. Because a lot of times these local people become your state representatives. And then your state become your national representatives,
“
said voter Nicole Jules, who cast a ballot at
Glencliff
High School in Nashville.
“
So if you don’t start catching people early and knowing what they’re about early, we will see the repercussions of it later.”
Some precincts — such as Haynes Middle School in North Nashville and the Martha O’Bryan Center in East Nashville — each saw fewer than 25 voters come through in the during the first five hours.
Several candidates tried on Twitter to put a positive spin on the pace, noting that fewer voters at least meant short lines.
School’s are out; lines are low; it’s a great day to take kids/grandkids to the polls to learn about voting. And while you’re at it, vote.— Jeff Yarbro (@yarbro)
August 4, 2016
Ballots include congressional and legislative primaries, as well as school board races and judicial retention elections, along the Metro Council District 1 race to replace Loniel Greene, who resigned and has since been indicted.
— Tony Gonzalez
Some Voters ‘Bombarded’ By School Board Mailers
In several pockets of Nashville, voters said Thursday they’d been overwhelmed by campaign materials for school board races. That includes the competitive four-way race for District 5 in East Nashville.
“I’ve had personal visits at my house and also lots of fliers,” said Shandi Paro. “And then there’s signs everywhere, so it’s pretty in your face. You can’t ignore it.”
Before voting at Ross Elementary School, Carolyn Williams said she had plucked fliers out of her mailbox almost every day.
“It’s just been bombarded with the school board stuff,” she said. “I’ll look at it and read a little bit of it and throw some of them away, especially when you get too many of the same ones.”
— Tony Gonzalez
Pinkston’s Personality
The busiest precinct in Will Pinkston’s school board district is Glencliff High School, where Bryn Sierra was voting today. She’s the mother of an 18-month-old, who was with her, and a program coordinator at Vanderbilt.
Sierra flirted with ditching Pinkston for Jackson Miller, who characterized himself as
a uniter and less abrasive. But then Sierra talked to her teacher friends, who all seemed to be backing Pinkston.
“Even if his words and his fight may have rubbed me the wrong way, because that’s not how I would do it, it’s been appreciated,” she said. “And it’s been effective.”
Many voters said this week’s Tennessean
story, reporting that Pinkston threatened district officials and fellow Democratic
activists, didn’t sway them.
Only two people who agreed to chat with a WPLN reporter had decided to back Miller, who has also been
scrutinized for his own behavior and rap sheet. (It should be noted that this is not official exit polling.)
— Blake Farmer
Referendum On Charters
Charter schools aren’t on the ballot in Nashville, but they kinda are.
That’s because almost every race broke down (at least partially) on the issue of charter schools. Three incumbents — Amy Frogge, Jill Speering and Will Pinkston — even
sat out of a candidate forum because they felt the sponsoring organization’s charter friendliness.
If it wasn’t perfectly clear early on, charter advocate Stand for Children helped voters figure out who were the most enthusiastic about privately-run schools. The organization funneled at least $200,000 into the race,
backing Miranda Christy, Thom Druffel, Jane Grimes Meneely, Jackson Miller and current board chair Sharon Dixon Gentry.
Yves Toleno, who is a video engineer, voted to keep Pinkston, primarily based on the incumbent’s skepticism of charter schools and their continued growth.
“While I appreciate and approve of charter schools in concept, I’m concerned that it really is just taking money away from public schools, and this is my district,” he said. This is where my kids are going to end up going to school.”
— Blake Farmer
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