Y’all, Tennessee is making waves—blue waves. In a Shelby County election, Tennessee Democrats absolutely trounced their Republican opponents, winning 21 of 26 county offices up for grabs. From the Commercial Appeal:
Of the 26 county offices up for grabs, Democrats won all but five — and those were previously Republican commission seats. Before the election, Republicans held nine of the 10 most high-profile county offices, including mayor and sheriff. Now, they hold zero.
How to describe the devastation of last night's win for Republicans? It was a rout. A sweep. A wave that overwhelmed Republicans who had largely controlled the county — not counting the commission, which had a scant Democratic majority — since 2008.
Emphasis added because holy smokes!
Shelby County Mayor-Elect Lee Harris
Let’s do a quick rundown of some of the notable victories. Meet Lee Harris, the new mayor of Shelby County. A former state senator in Tennessee, Harris’s victory was decisive:
With 153,583 ballots counted as of 11:03 p.m., Harris had 84,956 votes, or 55.3 percent, to Republican David Lenoir's 68,491 votes, or 44.6 percent, according to unofficial results from the Shelby County Election Commission.
In another high profile race, Democrat Floyd Bonner sailed to victory to become the first black sheriff in Shelby County history!
Newly elected Sheriff Floyd Bonner celebrates with supporters.
More on the Shelby County victories from the Commercial Appeal:
On the commission, Democrat Michael Whaley narrowly beat Republican Richard Morton for a seat that belonged to term-limited Republican Heidi Shafer. That will give the Democratic commissioners eight votes, paving the way for Lee's initiatives.
Down ballot, Democrat Bill Morrison beat Republican Chris Thomas for Probate Court clerk. Democrat Janis Fullilove narrowly beat Republican Bobby Simmons. Democrat Melvin Burgess beat Robert "Chip" Trouy for property assessor. Democrat Regina Newman beat Republican George Chism for trustee. Democrat Temiika D. Gipson beat Republican Tom Leatherwood for Circuit Court clerk. Democrat Heidi Kuhn beat Republican Richard DeSaussure for Criminal Court clerk. Wanda Halbert beat Donna Creson for County Court clerk.
The Democrats in Shelby County were in a rough place only a few years ago, but they’ve organized and rallied and good things are happening.
If Democrats can do the work, get out the vote, support candidates up and down the ballot in November, it’s going to be historic. Let’s get to it!
