Alice Rolli failed to broaden support in Nashville mayor's race

For the second time in eight years, a conservative candidate fizzled out in a Nashville mayoral runoff election.

• Alice Rolli bested establishment Democrats to finish second in the general election last month. But, she failed to broaden her base in the runoff and lost handily to O'Connell.

Why it matters: Nashville voters maintained a blue wall that has blocked Republican candidates from winning countywide.

• David Fox utilized a similar strategy to reach the runoff in 2015. He lost to Megan Barry by 10 points.

Zoom in: Rolli is a businessperson who worked as a campaign aide to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and as a state economic development official under Commissioner Bill Hagerty.

• Because of those credentials, she stood out as the top choice among conservative-leaning voters.

Flashback: Her campaign suffered a setback when it was revealed that one of her paid advisers was accused of discussing recruiting Proud Boys to attend a 2020 election protest in Nevada.

• Rolli parted ways with the firm that employed the adviser, although he told Axios at the time he had already resigned from her campaign.