Briley wins Nashville mayor election with 54.47 percent of special election vote

David Briley, who has been serving as Nashville mayor on an interim basis since the resignation of former Mayor Megan Barry, won the position at the ballot box Thursday in a special election.

Briley got 44,707 votes, 54.47 percent of those cast for the 13 candidates seeking the race. He thus wins the seat outright, avoiding the need under Nashville’s rules for a runoff that would have taken place had Briley fell below 50 percent.

Full results HERE. From The Tennessean’s report:

Coming in a distant second was conservative commentator and former Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain, who ran as an outside insurgent on a mission to dramatically overhaul Metro government and take on the city’s establishment. 

Swain took in 23 percent of the vote, followed by At-large Councilwoman Erica Gilmore, retired conservative radio talk show host Ralph Bristol, state Rep. Harold Love Jr., D-Nashville, and community activist jeff obafemi carr, who each collected around 5 percent. 

Briley, at a jubilant victory rally at Cabana in Hillsboro Village, arrived on stage to chants of his last name from the couple of hundred supporters in attendance.

…“We went through a tough period of time, but we all came together and we decided not to give up, but to keep moving forward, to come back together,” he said. “We know that we have challenges, but I think we all also deeply understand and appreciate the fact that our city is going in the right direction.”

…Briley’s victory gives him the office for only the next 15 months. Voters will head to the polls again in August 2019 to vote for a mayor again during the city’s typical election cycle.