The Democratic primary for Shelby County Mayor is less than a week away, and the race has attracted seven candidates who collectively raised more than $1.1 million from donations. What most residents may not know is exactly where the majority of that money comes from.
MLK50: Justice Through Journalism analyzed campaign finance records to determine how much cash each candidate raised by ZIP code from individuals, businesses and other organizations throughout Shelby County.
Financial support has poured heavily into the race from the wealthier residents living along Poplar Avenue and towards the edge of the county, the data shows. The lion’s share of the contributions was collected by Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. and Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery.
The ZIP code 38103, which takes in most of downtown, had the most contributions to the Shelby County mayor race with $156,477. Collierville (38017) came in second with $87,831 in contributions, and a section of Cordova (38018) came in third with a total of $71,842.
Residents living in the downtown ZIP code, 38103, gave more to both Smiley and Lowery than any other ZIP code. Donors residing in Cordova, Collierville, East Memphis and Midtown each accounted for more than $50,000 in campaign cash donated to all of the candidates, data show.
Smiley and Lowery also raised the most money from outside the county.
Smiley collected about $113,000 from outside Shelby County, more than any other candidate. Two out of every ten dollars received by the councilman’s campaign came from ZIP codes outside of the county, MLK50 found. That was more than double the $48,000 Lowery raised from out-of-county sources.
MLK50 collected data from campaign contribution forms that are submitted twice a year. As a result, the data only accounts for itemized contributions over $100 given by mid-January. The results included candidates who have raised more than $20,000.
The maximum donation allowed for an individual is $1,900, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. The analysis excluded any loans or free goods and services offered to candidates instead of money. Harold Collins was not included in the analysis due to incomplete campaign finance forms.
Four of the six candidates have borrowed money to help fund their campaigns. Shelby County Clerk Heidi Kuhn borrowed $100,000; Lowery borrowed $70,000; and Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess and County Chief Administration Officer Harold Collins each borrowed $25,000.
The winner of the May 5 primary will face Republican John DeBerry Jr., in the general election on August 6.
Michael Finch II is the enterprise reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact him at mike.finch@mlk50.com
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