Nashville mayoral race 2023: See who has endorsed the candidates

The Nashville mayoral election is Thursday, and candidates are touting their endorsement rosters in a bid to set themselves apart in a crowded 11-contender field.

Freddie O'Connell secured the endorsement of Laborers' International Union of North America Local 386 on Friday, marking the second prominent progressive group to endorse O'Connell this month. TIRRC Votes, a nonprofit affiliated with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition dedicated to building political power for immigrant and refugee communities, endorsed O'Connell on July 19.

Sharon Hurt secured endorsements from The Collective PAC, a political action committee dedicated to building Black political power, and Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's District 2 U.S. Congressman.

Former U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper on Wednesday endorsed state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, to be the city's next mayor. Cooper, who is current Nashville Mayor John Cooper's brother, represented Nashville for 20 years. He retired in 2023 after the state legislature redrew congressional maps, dividing Davidson County into three congressional districts.

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, who is serving his sixth term in the role, endorsed Matt Wiltshire on Wednesday. Wiltshire was earlier endorsed by the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police.

The Tennessee Voter Project, an organization dedicated to supporting Democratic candidates in the South, endorsed Yarbro on Monday.

Moms Demand Action, a national organization that fights for stronger gun laws, recently identified Heidi Campbell, Sharon Hurt, O'Connell, Wilhoite, Wiltshire and Yarbro as "gun sense candidates."

Recent polling suggests approximately a quarter of Nashville voters have not yet decided who they will vote for on Aug. 3. With this many candidates on the ballot, it's almost certain the race will come down to a runoff election in September.

This list includes endorsements announced by organizations, individuals and mayoral campaigns and will be updated on a rolling basis.

Nashville Election 2023: Mayoral race draws big field: Here's a look at who's running

Arts and Entertainment Ratings

While several organizations under the Nashville Creators Coalition rated candidates who participated in the coalition's forum based on the candidates' responses to a forum questionnaire, the group did not officially endorse any candidates.

Forum for Arts and Entertainment ratings:

• Freddie O'Connell: 4.5 stars

• Heidi Campbell: 4 stars

• Sharon Hurt: 4 stars

• Jeff Yarbro: 4 stars

• Jim Gingrich: 3 stars (Gingrich has suspended his campaign)

• Alice Rolli: 3 stars

• Matt Wiltshire: 3 stars

• Natisha Brooks: 1 star

Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood announces endorsements

A list released in late June by nonprofit Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood endorsed some candidates and recognized others for being aligned with the groups' values.

"Our endorsement committee considered the answers to our questionnaire along with the candidate's history of advocating for reproductive justice in particular to arrive at endorsements, while still noting those candidates who had less history in advocacy but expressed support for abortion rights," Executive Director Francie Hunt wrote in a statement to The Tennessean.

TAPP endorsed Heidi Campbell, Freddie O'Connell, Vivian Wilhoite and Jeff Yarbro, and recognized Sharon Hurt as aligned on the issues based on her questionnaire answers.

Individual candidate endorsements

Heidi Campbell

• Ironworkers Local 492 (union)

• Sunrise Movement Nashville

• Tennessee Rep. John Ray Clemmons

• Tennessee Rep. Bo Mitchell

• Tennessee Rep. Bob Freeman

• Tennessee Sen. Sara Kyle

• Tennessee Rep. Gloria Johnson

• Cheryl Mayes, MNPS Board member

• Brad Berkwitt, activist and host of The "Bad" Brad Berkwitt Show

• Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (endorsement)

• Women in Numbers

Jim Gingrich

Gingrich announced July 17 he was suspending his campaign for mayor. His name will still appear on the ballot.

Sharon Hurt

• 35 pastors (including pastors from across Nashville, a Memphis pastor and a Chicago pastor)

• Michael Hancock, mayor of Denver, Colo.

• Brenda Gilmore, former state senator, state representative and former Metro Council member

• Metro Trustee Erica Gilmore

• Brenda Wynn, Davidson County clerk

• Elect Black Women Political Action Committee

• Janet Jernigan, former executive director of FiftyForward and finance chair of Hurt's campaign

• Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (Aligned with Planned Parenthood on the issues, according to her answers on TAPP's questionnaire)

• Alisha Haddock, vice president and director of community impact at The Housing Fund

• Lee Jones, Bellevue small business owner and resident

• Big Leadership Energy

• The Collective PAC

• Bennie Thompson, U.S. Congressman, Mississippi District 2

Freddie O'Connell

• Laborers' International Union of North America Local 386

• TIRRC Votes, an offshoot of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition

• Amalgamated Transit Union

• Sunrise Movement Nashville

• State House District 53 Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville

• District 5 Metro Council member Sean Parker

• District 12 Metro Council member Erin Evans

• District 13 Metro Council member Russ Bradford

• District 14 Metro Council member Kevin Rhoten

• District 30 Metro Council member Sandra Sepulveda

• District 35 Metro Council member Dave Rosenberg

• At-large Metro Council member Bob Mendes

• Jill Speering, former MNPS board member

• Christine Lalonde, former council member

• Lynn Stinnett Williams, former council member

• David Kleinfelter, former council member

• Charlie Tygard, former council member

• Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (endorsement)

• John Bridges, author and LGBTQ advocate

• Aftyn Behn, rural progressive organizer and Tennessee House District 51 candidate

• Michele Sheriff, retired teacher and Metropolitan Nashville Education Association president, 2021-2023

• Mina Johnson, former Metro Council member and ex officio Planning Commission member

Alice Rolli

• Community Leaders for America, home of the national forum of Republican mayors and other local leaders

• Davidson County Republican Party

• David A. Fox, former school board chair, 2015 mayoral candidate, former journalist for The Tennessean, Bloomberg and co-founder of Nashville Post Co.

• J.C. Bowman, executive director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee

• Joseph D. Love, Jr., artist

• Dr. Pearl Sims, former Metro Planning commissioner

• Andrew Winfield Dunn, former ECD director of international development

• Manuel A. Delgado, past recipient of East Nashville Businessman of the Year

• John D. Richardson, Tennessee Republican Party state executive committee member

• Teri Reid Fontaine, pianist and photography studio owner/manager

• Ashley Elizabeth Graham Johnson, former speechwriter and communications professional for Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, current communications director at QuaverEd

• John Wang, small business owner and 30-year Nashville resident

• Kelly Crockett, philanthropic leader

• Ted Clayton, founder of The Clayton Collection and social leader

• Marty Luffman, historian and businessman

• Debi Tate, former Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts Director for the Tennessee Supreme Court

• Jeff Beierlein, army veteran and business leader (Beierlein ran for the District 5 U.S. House seat in 2022 but did not win the Republican primary).

Vivian Wilhoite

• District Attorney Glenn Funk

• Carol Solomon, former Circuit Court judge

• Nick Leonardo, former General Sessions judge and former District 1 Metro Council member

• Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (endorsement)

Matt Wiltshire

• The Nashville Fraternal Order of Police

• Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall

• District 8 Metro Council member Nancy VanReece

• District 27 Metro Council member Robert Nash

• District 31 Metro Council member John Rutherford

• George Armistead, former at-large Metro Council member from 1987-1999

• Phil Claiborne, former District 15 Metro Council member from 2007-2015

• Stewart Clifton, former District 18 Metro Council member from 1987-1999

• Jacobia Dowell, former District 32 Metro Council member from 2011-2019

• Jamie Isabell, former District 2 Metro Council member from 2003-2007

• Sean McGuire, former District 25 Metro Council member from 2007-2015

• Doug Pardue, former District 10 Metro Council member from 2011-2019

• Phil Ponder, former District 12 Metro Council member from 1995-2003

• Jason Potts, former District 30 Metro Council member from 2011-2019

• Bill Pridemore, former District 9 Metro Council member from 2011-2019

• Carter Todd, former District 34 Metro Council member from 2007-2015

• Charlie Tygard, former at-large Metro Council member from 2007-2015, District 35 Metro Council member from 2002-2007

• Chris Whitson, District 23 Metro Council member from 2003-2005

• Claudia Bonnyman, retired Davidson County Chancery Court chancellor

• David Swett, Jr., small business owner

• Mark Gwyn, former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director

• Victor Wynn, pastor

• Jennifer Horne, affordable housing leader

• Dina Shabayek, attorney and business owner

• Robert Sherrill, entrepreneur and community leader

• Gloria McKissack, history professor, community activist and Nashville Civil Rights movement veteran

• Veronica Frazier, former Metro Nashville Human Resources director

Jeff Yarbro

• Jim Cooper, former U.S. Congressman who represented Nashville from 2003-2023

• The Tennessee Voter Project

• United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 1995 (union)

• Tennessee District 29 Sen. Raumesh Akbari, Senate Democratic Leader

• Tennessee Rep. Darren Jernigan

• Telisha Cobb, former co-owner of Exit/In

• Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (endorsement)

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville mayoral race 2023: See who has endorsed the candidates