Tennessee: The Volunteer State is once again hosting America's only Thursday Election Day (more on that below), and barring any truly massive surprise, briefly-expelled Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson will officially win the special elections to succeed themselves.
The Republican-dominated chamber ejected the pair in April for taking part in a demonstration against gun violence on the House floor, but their respective county governments reappointed them just days later. (State Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is the only white member of the "Tennessee Three," was not expelled, and she told reporters afterward that her Black allies may have been treated differently because of "the color of our skin.") Special elections still need to take place under state law, and Jones and Pearson each raised $1 million during the first six months of the year.
They likely won't need to spend much of those huge war chests, though, to hold their dark blue constituencies. Pearson, who won his June primary for his Memphis seat in a 95-5 blowout, faces only an independent foe this week, while Jones, who was unopposed for renomination in his Nashville district, has a Republican opponent.
Thursday also brings us the crowded nonpartisan primary to replace Nashville Mayor John Cooper, who is retiring after just one term, as leader of his reliably blue community; unless someone unexpectedly wins a majority, the top two candidates will compete in the Sept. 14 general election. A pair of July polls show Metro Council member Freddie O'Connell, who has emphasized his opposition to Cooper's successful drive this year to fund a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans, with a clear lead for first place.
O'Connell's wealthy detractors, though are still hoping to stop the candidate who argues he's the most progressive person in the race. A trio of businessmen, two of whom are well-connected in Republican politics, have been financing the only negative TV ads of the race, including one that accuses O'Connell's transit plan of prioritizing bikes and flowers over drivers. That spot came from a group called "Paid for by Friends of Enoch Fuzz," but that prominent pastor says he didn't give anyone permission to use his name and doesn't support the effort to stop O'Connell. "I hate that kind of negative campaigning," Fuzz, who hasn't endorsed anyone, told the Nashville Banner. "I told Freddie, ‘Man, don’t let them distract you. You need to go on and run a positive campaign.'"
The few polls we've seen show a tight race for second between former city economic development chief Matt Wiltshire, state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, and Alice Rolli, who is the only notable Republican in the race. Wiltshire picked up an endorsement late in the race from Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, while Yarbro has the support of the mayor's brother, former Rep. Jim Cooper. The contest also includes Council member Sharon Hurt, Davidson County Property Assessor Vivian Wilhoite, and state Sen. Heidi Campbell, who lost last year's general election for the gerrymandered 5th Congressional District to far-right Republican Andy Ogles.
P.S. So why does Tennessee hold its primaries and local elections on Thursdays? Politico investigated this very question back in 2014 and discovered that it's been on Thursday since the state's first constitution was drafted in 1796, but that no one knows why. This relic of the George Washington era has remained intact ever since, though the state votes on Tuesday for presidential primaries and for general elections.