MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was a primary election for Democrats, while Republicans chose to keep their campaign money in their pockets and fight another day. So the big headline from Tuesday’s Shelby County primary was a pair of impressive Democratic victories by incumbent mayor Lee Harris and district attorney candidate Steve Mulroy.
In fact, it appears Harris and Mulroy will go in the August general election campaign as running mates. Harris endorsed Mulroy for the DA nomination, which likely helped his chances. And they shared an election watch party Tuesday night.
In August, Harris will be looking to keep his seat against Republican challenger Worth Morgan, currently a city councilman, while Mulroy will be seeking to unseat GOP incumbent DA Amy Weirich.
As I mentioned earlier, Republicans elected to sit this primary out. There was only one contested race on the GOP ballot for the county commission district 4 seat. Incumbent Brandon Morrison overcame a fierce challenge from Jordan Carpenter, who heavily criticized Morrison for not being conservative enough. The four other Republicans on the commission all endorsed Carpenter, plus the district lines were moved to take in more staunch Republican voters. But the voters who showed up were unwilling to accept Carpenter’s political views, which I consider extreme.
So in August, we will do it again with an election that will include judicial races along with state and federal races. Hopefully the turnout will be better.