Former Nashville Councilmember Sharon Hurt wins County Clerk race
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sharon Hurt. Photo: courtesy of Sharon Hurt
Sharon Hurt, the former city council member and mayoral candidate, won a spirited Democratic primary race for the Davidson County Clerk.
- Hurt defeated Nashville school board chair Freda Player to win the seat.
Why it matters: The Davidson County Clerk Clerk is an unheralded but important position that oversees marriage licenses and vehicle registration. It is one of the government offices that Nashvillians visit most often.
Zoom out: Hurt entered the race with high name recognition thanks to her time on the council. She ran for mayor in 2023.
- Player is the current Nashville school board chair and earned the endorsement of outgoing County Clerk Brenda Wynn, who is retiring.
- Former East Nashville-area Councilmember Pam Murray finished third.
State of play: Because there isn't a Republican candidate, Hurt is a shoe-in to win the general election in August.
Judicial races
Dawn Deaner, the former elected public defender for Nashville, unseated incumbent Criminal Court Judge Jim Todd in their Democratic primary.
- Deaner campaigned as a reformer, arguing her experience as public defender had given her insight into how the criminal justice system is stacked against poor people and young people. She earned the endorsement of several progressive politicians.
- Todd was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee last year to fill a vacancy. He got support from an array of state and local elected Democrats.
- Ron Dowdy finished third.
Incumbent General Sessions Judge Jodie Bell cruised to victory over challenger Michael Robinson.
- The race was a battle of candidates with family political connections.
- Bell is married to Circuit Court Judge and former mayor David Briley. Robinson is the son of Judge Gale Robinson.
Challenger Corletra Mance unseated incumbent Circuit Court Judge Bethany Glandorf to win the primary for the District III seat, which oversees family matters including divorce and custody cases.
- Lee appointed Glandorf to the position last year. Audrey Anderson came in third.
School board
All four incumbent Democratic school board candidates on the ballot won their primary elections — Rachael Anne Elrod, Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, Cheryl Mayes and Erin O'Hara-Block.
- Mayes once again defeated Fran Bush in a rematch from four years ago when Bush was the incumbent.
- Because no Republican candidates qualified to run for school board this year, the four Democrats are assured of victory in the August general election.
A nailbiter
In the closest race of the night, incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Joseph Day defeated challenger Howard Jones, a frequent political candidate in recent elections, by just 362 votes.
- The circuit court clerk is responsible for maintaining court records and overseeing other administrative duties.