Inside Nashville's May 5 primary elections
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Early voting is underway for the May 5 primary elections to fill judicial, school board and other important city government positions.
Why it matters: Voters will choose Davidson County's next county clerk, who oversees vehicle registrations, marriage licenses and business licenses.
- Incumbent Clerk Brenda Wynn is retiring after 12 years on the job.
County clerk
The Democrats vying to replace her are former Metro Councilmember Sharon Hurt, school board chair Freda Player and former Councilmember Pam Murray.
- Hurt, who ran for mayor in 2023, and Player, who Wynn endorsed, are considered the favorites.
Go deeper: Read the Tennessean's profile of the race.
School board
Four incumbent school board members are running for re-election — Rachael Anne Elrod, Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, Cheryl Mayes and Erin O'Hara-Block.
- Elrod and O'Hara-Block are unopposed.
Zoom in: Nabaa-McKinney was appointed by the Metro Council to the Donelson-area seat in 2020. She lost a special election to John Little later that year, but then beat him in 2022.
- Her challenger is Jenny Bell.
- The Antioch-area school board seat features another rematch. Mayes, the incumbent, is being challenged by Fran Bush, the then-incumbent whom Mayes defeated four years ago. The other challenger is newcomer Mary Bernice Polk.
Of note: The Davidson County Republican Party chose to make school board elections partisan four years ago. However, no Republican candidates qualified for school board races this year.
Go deeper: Read the Nashville Banner's Q&A with the school board candidates.
Judge races
Three competitive judicial races are on the May 5 ballot, headlined by the Criminal Court seat held by Judge Jim Todd.
- Gov. Bill Lee appointed Todd to the position last year. This election will fill the rest of retired Judge Cheryl Blackburn's term, set to end in 2030.
- Todd is being challenged by former public defender Dawn Deaner and attorney Ronald Dowdy.
Zoom out: Circuit Court Judge Bethany Glandorf, who was also appointed last year by Lee, has two challengers.
- Attorneys Audrey Anderson and Corletra Mance are vying for the nomination.
- Incumbent General Sessions Judge Jodie Bell faces a challenge from Michael Robinson.
Go deeper: Read the Banner's overview of the judicial races.