Two of Nashville’s three state senators are now running for mayor.
Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) announced Wednesday her campaign to succeed Mayor John Cooper. She joins a field that includes her Senate colleague Jeff Yarbro, who announced his own bid in February.
In 2020, Campbell beat incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson despite significant spending by Republicans in the Senate seeking to retain the last Nashville Republican in the legislature. (Sen. Mark Pody, a Wilson County Republican, represents part of Nashville after redistricting.) She ran for Congress in 2022 in the 5th Congressional District, formerly a Democratic stronghold redrawn to favor Republicans and won by Republican Andy Ogles.
Previously, Campbell was mayor of Oak Hill.
At her announcement at the Metro Courthouse, Campbell was joined by state Reps. Bob Freeman, John Ray Clemmons and Bo Mitchell, all Nashville Democrats; Sen. Sara Kyle (D-Memphis); and school board member Cheryl Mayes.
In a speech, Campbell said that her priorities were affordable housing, neighborhoods, public safety and education, and that “we need to focus on the people who live here.”
In a later interview, Campbell said she was “leaning towards” running prior to last week, but that the Covenant School shooting in her Senate district “did definitely make me feel like I needed to step up.”
On the proposal to help the Titans build a $2.1 billion stadium on the East Bank, Campbell said Metro councilmembers “need to follow their conscience.”
“It looks like I’m probably going to inherit it no matter what, so I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we get the possible deal for Nashvillians,” she said, adding that she would like to see transit, particularly a rail line to the airport, included as part of a future East Bank redevelopment.
Shortly after the announcement, Metro Councilmember Freddie O’Connell, one of Campbell’s competitors in the mayoral race, said on Twitter that “our senators should be [at the Capitol] fighting for us rather than announcing mayoral campaigns 100 days out from voting.”
Asked whether a mayoral campaign would distract from work at the legislature, Campbell said “the exact opposite” would be true.
“My relationships with people up at the Capitol that I’ve developed over the past couple of years is crucial for this role, because right now there’s a huge disconnect between Nashville and the state, and we really need someone who understands those dynamics, because they are not as simple as they may seem,” she said. “If there was a person in this race that I felt like I could support, believe me I would jump in and wholeheartedly support them. I am not seeing anyone in this race who both has the relationship with the state in terms of understanding the dynamics and knowing the people involved, and has team-building experience and leadership experience. My experience as a mayor is very important to this race.”
In addition to Campbell and Yarbro, the field now includes former Metro official Matt Wiltshire, Metro Councilmembers O’Connell and Sharon Hurt, former AllianceBernstein executive Jim Gingrich, Republican strategist Alice Rolli and former school board member Fran Bush.
Campbell had nearly $70,000 in her state Senate campaign account as of Jan. 24, funds which can be transferred to a mayoral campaign. She closed her congressional campaign account earlier this year after disbursing remaining funds to charitable organizations and political allies. Campbell's fundraising team from both the congressional campaign, which raised more than $1 million, and her Senate campaign is already working for Wiltshire's mayoral campaign.
The qualifying deadline for the race is May 18.
