Nashville elections: What to know about results for mayor, council

Nashvillians braved the rainy weather Thursday to head to the polls to pick new city leaders. There were 106 candidates on the ballot for the 42 local seats, including mayor, vice mayor, five council members at-large and 35 district council members. There were also two state House special elections.

The ads, debates and door-to-door campaigning aren't over yet, though. Runoffs are ahead on Sept. 14 for mayor and some other seats.

See the vote totals for each race here.

And here's a rundown of all you need to know about Thursday's election and what's next.

With such a wide field and no incumbent on the ballot, it's no surprise a new Nashville mayor was not elected on Thursday. But voters' choices have narrowed to two for a Sept. 14 runoff: Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli.

District 19 Council member O'Connell has served the city's most populous and fastest-growing district since 2015, pushing for improved transit infrastructure and increased affordable housing as well as services for Nashvillians experiencing homelessness. As a council member, O'Connell pushed through Nashville's first regulations for entertainment vehicles and the creation of a dedicated Office of Homeless Services, and vocally opposed the $2.1 billion deal to build a new Titans stadium.

Alice Rolli, a Nashville native and business and education strategist, served as an assistant commissioner of strategy for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development under Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. Rolli is a former board member of the Edgehill Village Neighborhood Association and spearheaded a petition effort to prevent development around Fort Negley in 2017. She aims to bolster Nashville's police system in an effort to increase crime clearance rates and support victim justice.

We break down how this matchup may unfold here.

District 34 Metro Council member Angie Henderson was neck in neck with incumbent Vice Mayor Jim Shulman for most of the night before pulling ahead to take the seat with 51.7% of the vote. Shulman, earning 47.4% of the vote, conceded the election to Henderson at 9:26 p.m.

The mayor's race won't be the only one on that Sept. 14 runoff ballot.

Only one Metro Council at-large seat was filled Thursday. Incumbent At-large Metro Council member Zulfat Suara exceeded the 10% threshold to win outright. Now, eight candidates will proceed to the runoff for the four remaining seats. Catch up on that race here.

A handful of district council seats are headed to a runoff, as well. Learn more about those here.

In 17 district council races, no incumbent was on the ballot. Three of those races will be decided in runoffs. An additional newcomer knocked incumbent Zach Young out of his District 10 seat, leaving at least 18 new faces on the council.

Among incumbent district council members, only one of 18 appeared to have failed to hold onto his seat. The others held onto theirs or held narrow leads. Nine ran unopposed.

Democrat Justin Jones will retain his District 52 spot after winning over Republican Laura Nelson. Jones was expelled from the seat in April by the Republican supermajority. Nashville's Metro Council reappointed him in short order, and now he's officially won the seat back.

In District 51, progressive organizer Aftyn Behn edged out interim state Rep. Anthony Davis in the Democratic primary. Metro Council appointed Davis to the seat in June after the unexpected death of Democratic Rep. Bill Beck. Behn will face Republican David Hooven in the general election on Sept. 14.