Some of Nashville’s biggest hottest elections were decided in August, but many are still racing to the November voting day finish line in a bid to win a seat in state office.
Collectively, candidates raised more than $256,000 to defend their seats on Capitol Hill or to win their way into office in the last three months, many of those dollars coming from within the state, and others from outside. Here’s a breakdown of the candidates still in the races and how much they’ve raised in their bids for office from July 29 to Sept. 30, according to campaign finance records filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State.
House District 50
Troy Brewer (challenger), Republican; raised $23,800; spent $11,214; left on hand $26,723
Bo Mitchell (incumbent), Democrat; raised $37,337, spent $28,553; left on hand $103,439
In the district which spans the north and western edges of Davidson County, the bulk of Brewer’s campaign contributions are coming from fellow House GOP leaders, political action committees associated with the governor, plus auto dealer Lee Beaman who has donated heavily to Republicans and Stop-Amp causes.
More than half of Mitchell’s money comes from the House Democratic Caucus, to the tune of nearly $25,000. Other big donations are coming from unions, like the iron workers, the teachers, state employees, plus Ragan Smith Associates in Nashville.
House District 51:
Bill Beck (open seat), Democrat; raised $25,170; spent $17,903; left on hand $11,868
Brian L. Mason (open seat), Republican; raised $3,500; spent $2,000; left on hand $5,887
With little financial backing running in the solidly Democratic East Nashville district, Mason’s largest contribution came from the Nashville Republican Women association.
Beck, on the other hand, has pulled in money from throughout the area, with large donations from House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh and real estate developer, Democratic fundraiser and possible mayoral candidate Bill Freeman, and CEO of DET Distributing Fred Dettwiller.
House District 52:
Mike Stewart (incumbent), Democrat; raised $1,500; spent $1,763; left on hand $6,767
Without an opponent this year, Stewart has taken a break from fundraising that would fill his campaign coffers. His only three donors include Federal Express, the Independent Medicine’s political action committee and the Tennessee Anesthesiologists.
House District 53:
Jason Powell (incumbent), Democrat; raised $23,251; spent $22,977; left on hand $109,380
John Wang (challenger), Republican; raised $9,455; spent $39,180; left on hand $12,837
In another seemingly safe Democratic district, Powell has outraised his opponent but hasn’t outspent him. Among Powell’s largest contributions are the iron workers union, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Bankers Association.
Wang’s donors are largely from local businesses, although he’s received help from the association of Nashville Republican Women and House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick.
House District 54:
Brenda Gilmore (unchallenged incumbent), Democrat; raised $2,635; spent $4,553; left on hand $4214.
Without a campaign to run this year, Gilmore’s contributions were limited, but came largely from Comcast and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee.
House District 55:
John Ray Clemmons (victor in contested primary), Democrat; raised $40,299; spent $38,556; left on hand $41,332
Even after beating longtime incumbent Gary Odom with no one to run against in the general election, Clemmons continued gathering political donations. Many of his donations came from individuals and ranged from $500 or below — like those from Mayor Dean or other mayoral hopefuls like Megan Barry and Charles Bone — his largest donations came from possible mayoral contender Bill Freeman, the Cooper for Congress Committee, two out of state holdings companies, bankers, the Tennessee Truck PAC, Butler’s Run owner Steven Turner and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee.
House District 56:
Beth Harwell (incumbent), Republican; raised $49,200; spent $9,225; left on hand $528,129
Chris Moth (challenger), Democrat; raised $7,125; spent $2,938; left on hand $7,012
As Speaker of the House, Harwell has had no problems outraising her challenger this year by nearly seven fold. Her biggest donors include DET Distributing’s CEO Fred Dettiwiller and his wife who both maxed out their contributions, auto dealer Lee Beaman, Advance Financial, Reynolds tobacco, Farmers Insurance, Pfizer the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association, and PACs representing hospitals and nursing homes, anesthesiologists, bankers, and natural resources development.
Moth has had trouble raising much money, with about half of the donations coming in at $200 of less. Former Green Hills school board candidate Becky Sharpe cut the largest and only four-figure check for Moth.
House District 58:
Harold Love (incumbent), Democrat; raised $2,575; spent $5,852; left on hand $5,161
Running for reelection this year without a primary or general election opponent, Love’s largest contributors included CSX railroad company, Norfolk Southern transportation company, Cash America International payday loan company and the Tennessee Alliance for Fair Airport User Fees.
House District 59:
Sherry Jones (incumbent), Democrat; raised $6,100; spent $8,037; left on hand $20,710
Jones raised the most this quarter among her peers who lacked both primary and general election challengers. The largest checks she deposited came from the Fraternal Order of Police Tennessee State Lodge and Tennessee First, a PAC funded largely by payday lending companies.
House District 60:
Jim Gotto (challenger), Republican; raised $25,075; spent $19,996; left on hand $24,923
Darren Jernigan (incumbent), Democrat; raised $25,140; spent $74,374; left on hand $70,719
Gotto is looking to reclaim his seat from Jernigan after a narrow loss two years ago, and is neck-in-neck with Jernigan on fundraising but has spent almost a fourth of what his rival has. Gotto’s main contributors come from the Republican Party proper, including House Speaker Harwell, Gov. Bill Haslam’s Jobs4TN PAC, House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, the Davidson County Republican Party, Nashville Republican Women, along with auto dealer Lee Beaman.
Jernigan has spent over $15,000 in research and polling, and nearly $19,000 in advertising this quarter. On the fundraising side, he’s cashed his large checks from the Tennessee Education Association, a Democrat PAC called “Tennessee Tomorrow,” the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, the United Auto Workers, Tennessee Laborers PAC and hopeful for House Democratic caucus chairman Mike Stewart.
Senate District 21:
Jeff Yarbro (open seat), Democrat; raised $49,920; spent $129,128; left on hand $46,699
Diana Cuellar (open seat), Republican; raised $14,240; spent $7,969; left on hand $7,767
Yarbro spent far more than any other legislative candidate this quarter, with roughly $14,000 on research and polling and another nearly $20,000 on advertising and another $20,000 on printing. Seen as a lock for the nod in the Democratic district, his largest contributions have come from Democratic PAC “Tennessee Tomorrow,” The Tennessee Education Association, with help from Rep. Mike Stewart.
An underdog in the district that was drawn to lump in Democrats, Cuellar raised the most from the association of Nashville Republican Women while individuals generally donated $500 dollars or less to her campaign.
