2019 Nashville mayoral election

The 2019 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 1, 2019, to elect the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor David Briley, who succeeded Megan Barry following her resignation and won a special election to fill the remainder of her term, ran for re-election. In the August election, Briley came in second behind city councilman John Cooper; however, no candidate took more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing a runoff between Cooper and Briley on September 12, 2019. Cooper won the runoff definitively with 69 percent of the vote.

All Nashville municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but candidates can be affiliated with a political party.

Advanced to runoff

 * David Briley, incumbent Mayor of Nashville
 * John Cooper, member of the Metropolitan Council

Eliminated in first round

 * Jimmy Lawrence, small business owner
 * Julia Clark-Johnson, professional driving administrator and instructor
 * John Ray Clemmons, state representative for the 55th district
 * Harold "Hollywood Howie" Garoutte, retired U.S. Army sergeant and owner and operator of Southern Country Radio
 * Carol M. Swain, former professor at Vanderbilt University
 * Jon Sewell, small business owner and 2018 candidate
 * Bernie Cox, musician
 * Jody Ball, businessman and GOP candidate in US-5
 * Nolan Starnes, community activist

Potential

 * Jeff Obafemi Carr, community organizer
 * Erica Gilmore, member of the Metropolitan Council
 * Daron Hall, Sheriff of Davidson County
 * James Shaw Jr., hero of the Nashville Waffle House shooting

Declined

 * Megan Barry, former Mayor of Nashville
 * Bill Freeman, real estate developer and owner of the Nashville Scene, Nashville Post, and Nfocus
 * Harold Love, state representative from the 58th district
 * Bob Mendes, member of the Metropolitan Council
 * Renata Soto, nonprofit executive and former director of Conexión Américas
 * Jeffrey Napier, U.S. Army veteran and former mechanic for Metro Nashville Government