Mayor Freddie O’Connell will seek a second term next year after many months of hinting at, positioning toward and fundraising for reelection. His official announcement came Monday afternoon via longtime political consultant Emily Cupples, who will manage his 2027 campaign.
“In this first term, we’ve taken on some of the most important, generational work our city has ever tackled and delivered real progress, securing funding for transit and infrastructure, reducing crime across every precinct, and making the largest investments in housing Nashville has ever seen,” reads a statement shared by the O’Connell campaign. “But this is ultimately about something bigger: building a Nashville where people can afford to stay, feel safe, and see a future for themselves and their families. That’s the work in front of us, and we’re just getting started.”
O’Connell casts himself as steady hand and city defender as reelection buzz grows
A focus on affordability, housing and quality of life borrows from last week’s State of Metro address delivered at Nissan Stadium. At a press conference after his speech, O’Connell all but broke the news to reporters. After transferring $77,000 from his 2023 bid to a new election campaign in December 2024, O’Connell returned to fundraising in 2025, raking in more than $440,000 last year. His early contributions include the familiar donor class of lobbyists, attorneys and executives who stay close to city politics. O’Connell also added longtime WeGo public transit board member Gail Carr Williams as his 2027 campaign treasurer. The campaign has so far spent only on basics like voter software, and paid out $20,000 to Democrat-aligned consultancy Triumph strategies.
Wonky and affable, O'Connell served two terms in Metro Council before running for mayor in 2023. His history supporting transit investments, working against homelessness and bridge-building between the city's activist community earned him early support as a progressive leader. He won office after beating out a crowded field that included fellow liberals state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, state Sen. Heidi Campbell, retired AllianceBernstein COO Jim Gingrich and economic development professional Matt Wiltshire, ultimately sealing the win in a runoff against conservative Alice Rolli.
The successful 2024 transit referendum, which secured dedicated tax dollars to a variety of mobility-related city upgrades, was a strong early-term win for O’Connell. Since then, he has steered clear of major political news, except when forced into the spotlight. Davidson County’s extended power outages in January during Winter Storm Fern made for one such example, cited as a politicizing event in the most recent Vanderbilt Poll.
The same survey found a steady decline in O’Connell’s approval rating, from 71 percent in 2024 to 67 percent in 2025 to 53 percent in the early weeks of 2026. In the same poll, a majority of Nashvillians indicated that the city is on the wrong track. City grievances could provide a potent chance for a challenger to run against O’Connell. The field is wide-open apart from Metro Councilmember Joy Styles, who announced her mayoral candidacy in January.
