John Cooper, left, and David Briley at a televised debate last month
Mayor David Briley raised the most money last quarter of any candidate in the Aug. 1 mayoral election, though he lagged behind At-Large Metro Councilmember John Cooper in campaign spending in part thanks to a $555,000 loan from Cooper to his campaign.
According to new financial disclosures, Briley raised $443,000 between April 1 and June 30 and spent $419,000 during the same period. His donors included Metro Council members Brett Withers, Nancy VanReese and Russ Pulley and former mayor and Gov. Phil Bredesen. Eleven different LLCs controlled by downtown business owner Bill Miller made maximum contributions to Briley’s campaign.
Cooper spent $678,000 during the same period, despite bringing in $265,000 in donations. His donors included his brother Jim, a Democratic congressman. Jim Cooper told The Tennessean that he has traditionally supported incumbent mayors and that he likes Briley, “but of course I support my brother.”
As early voting begins Friday and with Election Day just weeks out, Briley has $440,000 on hand and Cooper has $142,000 on hand, though the wealthy real estate developer could write himself another check to fund the final weeks of his campaign.
Trailing behind the top two candidates in fundraising are Democratic state Rep. John Ray Clemmons and conservative former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain. Clemmons reported raising $118,000 during the period and loaning his campaign another $50,000 (the attorney had previously loaned his campaign $100,000). He has $120,000 on hand for the final stretch of the campaign.
His donors in the second quarter include Knoxville Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson and Claudia Huskey, who served as campaign manager for Megan Barry’s successful 2015 mayoral campaign and left the mayor’s office after Briley took over last year. Former Metro Schools Director Shawn Joseph also contributed to Clemmons’ campaign.
Clemmons reserved his first batch of television airtime earlier this month, though he and Swain have spent significantly less than Cooper and Briley on TV ads.
Swain reported bringing in $112,000 during the period with just $50,000 on hand for the end of the race. Her donors include prominent conservatives like Kline Preston and U.S. Rep. Mark Green
Cooper’s infusion of cash into his own campaign pales in comparison to the in-part self-funded campaigns run by David Fox and Bill Freeman, among others, in 2015. (Freeman, who co-owns this publication, donated to Briley’s campaign, while Fox is backing Cooper.) Candidates funneled more than $8 million in personal money into that race, ultimately won by Barry.
