Yarbro, Wiltshire, O'Connell have cash advantage in mayor's race
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State Sen. Jeff Yarbro has the most cash on hand for the stretch run of the Nashville mayor's race, while former city official Matt Wiltshire continues to flex his fundraising prowess.
State of play: The top candidates in the race filed their financial disclosures for the quarter ending on June 30 this week.
- Yarbro, Wiltshire and Metro Councilmember Freddie O'Connell each have more than twice as much cash at their disposal as the next closest candidate.
Why it matters: By all accounts, it figures to be a close general election and the fundraising advantage boosts those candidates' chances.
Yes, but: Candidates could give themselves loans after the disclosure deadline to pump up their campaign's financing.
- Businessperson Jim Gingrich has given his campaign $2 million in loans. Gingrich earned his money as an executive at the financial firm AllianceBernstein, which relocated to Nashville in 2018.
- Wiltshire lent his campaign just under $350,000 last year. Wiltshire, whose wife Crissy Wieck is a sales executive and partial owner of a trucking company, worked for the city over the last decade on economic development and affordable housing initiatives.
- Yarbro lent his campaign $50,000 and forwarded $141,000 from his state campaign coffers earlier this year.
Of note: These were the first fundraising disclosures for state Sen. Heidi Campbell and property assessor Vivian Wilhoite, who both entered the race in April.
- Campbell raised over $326,000 this period and has over $149,000 on hand.
- Wilhoite has just under $39,000 on hand after raising $70,000.
Catch up quick: Analyzing the wide-open Nashville mayor's race