Mayoral election in Memphis, Tennessee (2023)
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Special state legislative • Municipal • How to run for office |
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← 2019
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| 2023 Memphis elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 20, 2023 |
| General election: October 5, 2023 Runoff election: November 16, 2023 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor |
| Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2023 |
The city of Memphis, Tennessee, is holding a nonpartisan general election for mayor on October 5, 2023. The filing deadline for this election is July 20, 2023. Mayor Jim Strickland (D) is term-limited.
Twelve candidates have declared their candidacy as of June, 2023, including six Democrats, three Republicans, and two independents.[1] While the election is officially nonpartisan, many candidates (and officeholders) are affiliated with a political party.
The candidates who have received the most media attention are:
- Joe Brown (I), former Shelby County Criminal Court judge and host of the reality court show ‘’Judge Joe Brown’’;[3][4]
- Frank Colvett (R); Memphis City councilmember and council chairman;[6]Cite error: Closing
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- Michelle McKissack (D); member of the Shelby County Board of Education and a former broadcast journalist;[9][10]
- Van Turner (D), former Shelby County commissioner and president of the NAACP Memphis branch, and;[11][12]
- Paul Young, CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.[13]
According to University of Memphis professor Otis Sanford, the issues of crime and police conduct will have an outsized effect in the October election. “[...] The race for mayor will come down [to] who has the clearer and most convincing message — not just about fighting crime, but changing the culture in the police department in light of the police killing of Tyre Nichols,” Sanford said.[14]
Memphis, the 27th-largest city in the U.S., has had a Democratic mayor since 1992. That election, Willie Herenton (also a candidate for mayor this year) defeated then-incumbent Richard Hackett by 146 votes.[15] Herenton was elected to five consecutive terms before he resigned in 2009. Myron Lowery served as mayor pro tem for three months before losing to A. C. Wharton in a special election to fill the rest of Herenton’s term. Wharton served until 2015, when he lost to Jim Strickland, the current incumbent.[16][17][18]
As of June 2023, the partisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities was 62 Democrats, 26 Republicans, three independents, and seven nonpartisans. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown. Based on 2020 population estimates, 76.1% of the population of the top 100 cities lived in cities with Democratic mayors, and 16.2% lived in cities with Republican mayors at the start of 2022.
The Memphis mayoral election is one of 40 mayoral elections Ballotpedia is covering in 2023. These include all mayoral elections in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and all mayoral elections in state capitals.
Memphis is also holding elections for county clerk and all 13 seats on the city council in 2023.
Elections
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Candidates and results
The general election will occur on October 5, 2023.
General election for Mayor of Memphis
Michelle Robinson McKissack is running in the general election for Mayor of Memphis on October 5, 2023.
Candidate | ||
 | Michelle Robinson McKissack (Nonpartisan) | |
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Tennessee elections, 2023
January 24, 2023
March 14, 2023
June 15, 2023
August 3, 2023
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
Mayoral partisanship
Memphis has a Democratic mayor. As of June 2023, 62 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, four are independents, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
What's at stake?
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Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee. As of 2017, its estimated population was 652,236.[19]
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Memphis uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic data for Memphis, Tennessee (2015) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Memphis | Tennessee | |
| Total population: | 657,167 | 6,595,056 |
| Land area (square miles): | 315 | 41,235 |
| Race and ethnicity[20] | ||
| White: | 30.2% | 77.8% |
| Black/African American: | 62.8% | 16.8% |
| Asian: | 1.8% | 1.6% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.1% |
| Two or more: | 1.7% | 2% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.7% | 4.9% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 83.7% | 85.5% |
| College graduation rate: | 25.2% | 24.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $36,445 | $45,219 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 27.6% | 21.4% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) | ||
See also
| Memphis, Tennessee | Tennessee | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Easy Campaign Finance Portal, "Shelby County, TN," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ Action News 5, "Shelby County Sheriff announces candidacy for Memphis mayor," October 26,2022
- ↑ Tennessee House of Representatives, "HOUSE RESOLUTION 106," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ https://dailymemphian.com/article/31875/new-democrats-memphis-mayor-forum-van-turner-paul-young-joe-brown Daily Memphian, "Three Memphis mayoral contenders clash at early campaign forum," October 27, 2022]
- ↑ U.S. News, "House Minority Leader Karen Camper to Run for Memphis Mayor," November 11, 2023
- ↑ City of Memphis, "District 2 - Frank Colvett," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ abc24, "Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton announces bid for 2023, February 6, 2023
- ↑ Tennessee Bar Association, "Memphis’ First Black Mayor Plans to Challenge Strickland for Old Seat - Articles," April 6, 2018
- ↑ Memphis Shelby County Schools, "Michelle Robinson McKissack," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ Twitter, "Michelle McKissack," January 26, 2023
- ↑ NAACP Memphis, "The President," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ Daily Memphian, "Turner opens campaign for Memphis mayor where Forrest statue once stood," September 1, 2023
- ↑ Paul Young for Memphis Mayor, "Paul Young for Memphis," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ ABC24, "Opinion | Memphis mayoral race to be about 'substance over style'," February 3, 2023
- ↑ Memphis, the City Magazine, "One Mayor’s Memphis," November 6, 2007
- ↑ Memphis Daily News, "Herenton-Lowery Transition Under Way in Choppy Waters," accessed February 26, 2023
- ↑ Memphis Flyer, "It’s Wharton and “One Memphis," October 15, 2009
- ↑ Commercial Appeal, "Strickland defeats Wharton in Memphis mayor’s race," October 9, 2015
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Memphis," accessed December 12, 2018
- ↑ Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
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