2023 Nashville mayoral election
The 2023 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 3, 2023, with a runoff on September 14 because no candidate surpassed 50% of the vote in the general election. It selected the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent mayor John Cooper did not seek re-election to a second term in office. While mayoral elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, Cooper is a member of the Democratic Party. A wide field of candidates ran to succeed Cooper, with Democratic metro councilmember Freddie O'Connell and Republican political consultant Alice Rolli advancing to the runoff. Candidates eliminated in the general election included former city official Matt Wiltshire, state senators Heidi Campbell and Jeff Yarbro, and at-large metro councilmember Sharon Hurt. O'Connell is considered one of the more progressive figures in Nashville politics, and is known for his vocal opposition to the use of public funds to build the Nissan Stadium. Rolli is a businesswoman who has worked for numerous prominent Tennessee Republicans in the past, including governor Bill Haslam and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander. Rolli was considered an underdog in the runoff due to her status as a Republican in a heavily Democratic city. In the 60 years since the city of Nashville was consolidated with Davidson County in 1963, it has never elected a Republican mayor. Democrat Joe Biden won the city with 64% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election. As expected, O'Connell won the runoff in a landslide, becoming the 10th mayor of metro Nashville. Candidates

Advanced to runoff

Eliminated in first round

Withdrew after the filing deadline

Withdrew before the filing deadline 
Gilbert Ramirez, business owner and former police officer (running for Metro Council at-large)
Lorenzo Short, Jr. real estate broker

Disqualified 
 William Domann, musician
 Zerit Teklay, author

Declined
Megan Barry, former mayor (2015–2018) (Party affiliation: Democratic)
Hal Cato, former nonprofit executive
John Cooper, incumbent mayor (Party affiliation: Democratic)
David A. Fox, candidate for mayor in 2015 (endorsed Rolli)
Bob Freeman, state representative for the 56th district (2018–present) (Party affiliation: Democratic) (endorsed Campbell)
Odessa Kelly, community activist and nominee for Tennessee's 7th congressional district in 2022 (Party affiliation: Democratic)
Bob Mendes, metro councilmember (endorsed O'Connell)
Tara Scarlett, education nonprofit CEO
Jim Shulman, vice mayor of Nashville (ran for re-election)
Carol Swain, retired Vanderbilt University professor and candidate for mayor in 2018 and 2019 (Party affiliation: Republican)

First round

First round endorsements

First round polling

First round results

Runoff

Runoff endorsements 
Endorsements in bold were made after the first round. Runoff polling

Runoff results

Notes

References

External links 
Official campaign websites
 Natisha Brooks (R) for Mayor
 Fran Bush (I) for Mayor
 Heidi Campbell (D) for Mayor
 Bernie Cox (R) for Mayor
 Jim Gingrich (D) for Mayor
 Sharon Hurt (D) for Mayor
 Stephanie Johnson for Mayor
 Freddie O'Connell (D) for Mayor
 Alice Rolli (R) for Mayor
 Vivian Wilhoite (D) for Mayor
 Matt Wiltshire (I) for Mayor
 Jeff Yarbro (D) for Mayor

Nashville mayoral
Nashville
Government of Nashville, Tennessee
Mayoral elections in Nashville, Tennessee