2015 Memphis mayoral election


The 2015 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 8, 2015, to elect the next mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor A C Wharton ran for re-election to a second full term in office. He was defeated by Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland, a fellow Democrat, who earned a plurality of the vote and became the first White mayor of Memphis in more than two decades.
The election was officially non-partisan, but each candidate was affiliated with a political party. The mayoral election coincided with elections for the thirteen seats on the Memphis City Council. Due to the 1991 ruling of U.S. District Judge Jerome Turner, there is no runoff allowed in citywide elections.

General election

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

Campaign

Wharton was first elected Mayor in a 2009 special election following the resignation of Mayor Willie Herenton; he was elected to a full term in 2011. As mayor, Wharton oversaw the city's response to the 2009 recession and subsequent budget cuts. Wharton defended his record as mayor, but faced criticism from his challengers on Memphis' high crime rates, slow economic growth, and Wharton's benefits cuts to city workers. Strickland painted himself as a "law and order" candidate and promised to crack down on violent crime in the city, while Harold Collins called for a data-based approach to crime and for increased job training for Memphis residents. On Election Day, Strickland defeated Wharton by nearly twenty percentage points, winning a plurality of the vote.