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.

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Day one of the special legislative session yesterday was marked by passionate protests as Republican lawmakers took the first steps toward carving up Memphis' blue congressional district.

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What's next: GOP lawmakers are expected to reveal their new map proposals today. Leaders have said their maps would eliminate the Democratic U.S. House district in Memphis and give Republicans the advantage in all nine of Tennessee's congressional races.

The share of Americans who say their financial situation is getting worse is higher now than at any point in the past 25 years, per new Gallup data.

Why it matters: The data brings national context to Nashville, where affordability concerns are driving rising pessimism.

Zoom in: In a recent Vanderbilt University poll, 82% percent of residents said they couldn't afford to buy a house in the city. Respondents listed affordable housing as one of the top priorities for city leaders.

The latest: Mayor Freddie O'Connell made affordability efforts the cornerstone of his State of Metro speech last week.

The big picture: Nashville is not alone. In the national poll from Gallup, conducted last month, 55% of Americans said their financial situation is getting worse. That's up from 53% last year and 47% in 2024.

• The number is higher than at any point since 2001, even compared with recessions during the pandemic or in the wake of the financial crisis.

Zoom in: When asked to identify their most important financial problem, 31% of the national poll respondents cited the cost of living.

Read the national story

👎 Some Memphis-area Republican lawmakers say they oppose the state's last-minute push to eliminate the city's Democratic congressional district. (Tennessean)

🦋 Dolly Parton canceled her Las Vegas residency due to health issues, but she insists "everything I have is treatable." (AP)

📺 NewsChannel 5 is back on the air for Xfinity subscribers in Nashville following a protracted dispute between station ownership and Comcast. (NewsChannel 5)

The Fallon Company released new renderings yesterday of the buildings and public space that will be situated closest to the new Nissan Stadium.

Why it matters: The East Bank parcel will feature a hotel, residential building and retail space.

Between the lines: Fallon is the developer for the East Bank area around the new stadium, which will be called Eastpoint.

• A groundbreaking is planned for later this month for the building.

The intrigue: In a press release, Fallon says its design "will prioritize a walkable and bikeable environment."

• The new building will include affordable housing and street-level retail.