The Commercial Appeal is reporting that defeated Republican candidate for Shelby County Mayor Terry Roland has decided to not mount a write-in campaign, opting for party unity, instead.
Roland lost the May 1 primary with 29 percent of the vote to David Lenoir’s 62 percent.
Lenoir faces Democrat Lee Harris in the August 2 local general election.
Asked for a reaction from The Tennessee Star, Shelby County Commissioner Roland said, “if we don’t rid of partisan primaries in local elections, the Republicans aren’t going to have a chance in Shelby County. Democrats make up 70 percent of the county.”
Getting rid of partisan primaries in local elections is of greatest concern in Shelby County.
In other parts of the state, many conservative Republicans are concerned that the state’s open primary system allows Democrats to vote in Republican primaries, ultimately making it more difficult for strong conservative candidates to break through.
A bill to end the open primary system in Tennessee died in committee in the recently completed session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
