Vacancies, Voters, and Vagrants
🗳️ Early voting ends today · Congressional vacancies · TN's coolest thing · Wallen bodycam footage · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. If Blackburn wins the governor's race, who takes her Senate seat... Low turnout marks D7 race and makes it a tossup... The state's coolest thing... And much more!
On the Docket Our editor, Davis Hunt, will be speaking about the spiritual origins of cities at the Spiritual Warfare conference in Red Boiling Springs, TN over the weekend of February 12-15. More info here.
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🗳️ Early Primary Voting Ends Today’s the last day of early voting in the 7th Congressional District primaries, and unless there is a surge at the polls next Tuesday, it looks like a small percentage of voters will determine who’s in the General Election. Of the 30,198 votes cast so far, 15,619 ballots were pulled for the Republican primary, and 14,579 were pulled for the Democratic primary.
Late endorsements and an influx of new cash may be enough to influence the outcome of the Republican nomination. A rare primary nod came from Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday when he endorsed his former cabinet member, Matt Van Epps. Mark Green’s ex-wife, Camie Guenther-Green, came out in support of state Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson). Early on in the race, the former congressman threw his weight behind Van Epps.
The amount of cash Stewart Parks has been quietly spending on his campaign has caught some attention. According to TriStar Daily, the J6er pardoned by President Trump has spent over $330,000 in the race. Parks will most likely dip into D7’s rural Republican vote, which could affect candidates focused on grassroots turnout, such as Barrett.
🫵 Can Blackburn Appoint Her Own Successor If Elected Gov? Though the gubernatorial election is still a year away, politicians like Rep. Tim Burchett and Andy Ogles are already jockeying for position if Senator Marsha Blackburn wins the race, effectively vacating her coveted congressional seat. In Tennessee, the governor will appoint someone to occupy the Senate vacancy until the next regular election in 2030. The question is, which governor? The answer: it’s a bit vague.
Though Tennessee Code does bar holding some dual offices, a broader bill that would prohibit holding more than one elected office statewide did not become law last session. Instead, this particular situation seems to be governed by common law as adopted in Tennessee case law.
Vacating a position, such as a U.S. Senate seat, doesn’t occur automatically after winning an election for a different office. Instead, the vacancy can be delayed until the official acceptance of the new position. Blackburn could vacate her seat any time between an election victory and being sworn in as governor. Ultimately, the power of appointment could end up in Governor Lee’s hands, but it also seems possible that Blackburn could time her official vacancy to ensure that she appoints her successor.
There could also be even more political maneuvering at play. President Donald Trump will want a strong ally to replace Blackburn if she is elected as governor and may be compelled to throw his weight around if he prefers an appointment made by Lee over Blackburn or vice versa. Though the president has questioned Lee’s judgment when it comes to endorsements in the past—cue the post where Trump called Lee a RINO in 2024—the current governor seems to be back in the White House’s good graces given the cooperation regarding Memphis Safe Task Force operations.
📀 Mayor Touts Tech as Nashville’s Economy of Tomorrow Mayor Freddie O’Connell hosted a press conference yesterday where he announced a new partnership with Amazon Web Services to address Middle Tennessee's growing technology talent demand, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence and cloud computing. “We believe the city and region can produce the best and brightest tech talent in the country,” said O’Connell. “We believe that talent can accelerate Nashville's strengths in the music industry and healthcare IT and develop new strengths in rapidly developing sectors like fintech.”
According to O’Connell, the partnership wouldn’t be possible without the Nashville Innovation Alliance established by the mayor and Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier last June. The “aim of the alliance is to grow Nashville’s innovation capacity to create economic expansion and inclusive prosperity” to improve "the region’s ecosystem for innovation and research.”
AWS’s General Manager of Global Education Valerie Singer and interim executive director of the Nashville Innovation Alliance Sally Parker were also in attendance and discussed how they plan to leverage public and private partnerships, along with higher education, to create a tech ecosystem.
“This underscores Amazon's continued investment in Nashville and marks a significant milestone as Tennessee becomes our sixth focus region in the United States, joining a growing national and global movement to advance technology education and workforce development,” explained Singer. She went on to share that tech job postings in Middle Tennessee have increased 35 percent since 2020, and there are currently about 8,000 technology positions open across the region.
💡 Tennessee’ Coolest Thing The Tennessee Manufacturers Association announced the winner of its annual “Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee” contest, chosen through a mix of public voting and industry review. This year’s title went to McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing in Murfreesboro for the Volterra ZSL, an all-electric refuse collection truck.
Built with a driver-first cab design, low step height, and advanced safety features like blind-spot monitoring and collision alerts, the Volterra ZSL is engineered to handle a full day’s route on a single charge while producing zero tailpipe emissions. The award highlights both the state’s manufacturing depth and the growing shift toward heavy-duty electric vehicles.
HEADLINES
- 🔪 On Vanderbilt University’s campus, a man named Kiracuras Johnson, with a history of violent offenses, reportedly chased students with a knife and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal trespassing.
- ⚖️ In Nashville, Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Jim Todd to fill the vacant Davidson County Criminal Court seat formerly held by Judge Cheryl Blackburn, whose retirement took effect after nearly three decades on the bench.
- 🪨 A proposed quarry lake project on Rep. Todd Warner’s property near the Duck River was rejected by Marshall County’s planning and zoning board following strong opposition from local residents over concerns like noise and land use.
DEVELOPMENT-ish
- Predators and Mayor strike deal for Sportsplex ice rink upgrades (Axios)
- Noko team plans third Nashville restaurant, headed to west side (NBJ)
- In-N-Out pays $30M for Middle Tennessee industrial facility (NBJ)
- NYC's iconic Philippe Chow sets Nashville opening date (NBJ)
- Lower Broadway building listed for $130M (Post)
- Hotel building eyed for SoBro (Post)
âśą WALLEN WALKS THE PLANK
🚨 Bodycam footage from Morgan Wallen's arrest following the infamous chair-chucking incident (Watch)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
đź“… Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎻 Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: Elgar’s Cello Concerto @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $43+, Info
🪕 Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers @ Station Inn, 9p, $20, Info
🎸 Lainey Wilson @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $55+, Info
🎸 Mary Chapin Carpenter @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $50+, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik and Camelia Brennan.