Metro
Cohen’s exit notes and Alexander’s memoir
In this political roundup, new congressional districts shake up contenders with August primaries around the corner. Plus, a senator explains what he’s learned from “JFK to Trump.”
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 4299 articles by Bill Dries :
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May 2026
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Premium
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Behind The Headlines The fast track to the August state and federal primary elections
The quick shift from the May elections to the August elections is the main topic of discussion on this week’s “Behind The Headlines.”
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City of Memphis ‘We ain’t surprised’: NCRM’s Legacy Experience links past struggles to present politics
The $55-million renovation offers an expanded look at the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and of the movement since his death in 1968.
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Elections Election commission to seek $350K from state for district shake-up
Redistricting plans mean an “aggressive timeline” and overtime costs for the Shelby County Election Commission, Linda Phillips told reporters Tuesday.
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Elections Pearson staying in 9th, plus a few Memphis surprises on first congressional candidates list
Pearson declares ahead of a Friday filing deadline for the congressional seats with new district lines.
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City of Memphis City Council to consider resolution opposing new congressional district lines
The resolution is not binding on state lawmakers, who have already passed the controversial plan. Council members also take a look at affordable housing in Orange Mound.
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2026 elections
ElectionsLee greenlights special session for redistricting next week
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called a special session of the Tennessee Legislature to consider redrawing the lines of the state’s nine Congressional districts in a bid to turn the state’s largest and only blue district red in this year’s midterm elections.
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State Government Trump says Gov. Lee on board with redistricting push
Trump posted Thursday on social media that he had talked with Gov. Bill Lee about a special session of the Tennessee legislature. Lee hasn’t commented.
Related content:
Blackburn, Rose call to ‘flip Memphis’ in wake of Supreme Court ruling
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Elections
ElectionsBlackburn, Rose call to ‘flip Memphis’ in wake of Supreme Court ruling
The calls to eliminate Tennessee’s only Democratic-held U.S. House seat follow Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that changes the Civil Rights Act standards for drawing legislative districts.
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Shelby County What’s in Lee Harris’ ‘lean and mean’ county budget proposal?
Lowering the property-tax rate a few cents and another proposed school, the third of his tenure, highlighted Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ final budget proposal.
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City of Memphis Mayor Young vetoes council rewrite of impasse ordinance
In a three-page letter, Young writes that the ordinance “seeks to enlarge the Council’s authority in direct contravention of the charter.”
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Premium
Shelby CountyA quick history of Tennessee redistricting and a closer look at unofficial vote totals
This political roundup dives into the surprising number of write-ins in the Shelby County primary races, a short — and litigious — history of redistricting in Tennessee and more.
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Spirit of Memphis Tom Lee Day will move to October, but poetry honored today
The Memphis River Parks Partnership announced the change Friday, May 8, as it honored recipients in the 5th annual Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word competition.
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City of Memphis Affordable housing wins come a few lots at a time
Habitat for Humanity recently hit a milestone in Uptown: Two homes it finished building in February had their appraisals match their costs, which isn’t a given when talking about affordable housing in Memphis.
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State Government Leaders react to Memphis redistricting
“We have specific needs, and we need a representative in Congress that can speak to those needs,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young told The Daily Memphian Thursday.
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State Government G.A. Hardaway’s son appointed to his state House seat
TJ Hardaway heads to Nashville to take his seat in the state House for an anticipated Thursday vote on a Republican plan to redraw the boundaries of the state’s nine Congressional districts.
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2026 Elections
ElectionsPrimary voter turnout healthy — but not high
Primary elections in Shelby County draw the lowest voter turnout. Considering that, overall turnout in Tuesday’s election was higher than expected.
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2026 elections
ElectionsMickell Lowery wins Democratic county mayoral primary
The winner of the Democratic primary will meet former state Rep. John DeBerry, the Republican nominee, in the August general election race to succeed outgoing Mayor Lee Harris.
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2026 elections
ElectionsWon at the primary: The 3 County Commission seats that stay in the Democratic column
Shante Avant, Karen Streeter and Lashanta Rudd won seats on the County Commission with their win in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries.
Related content:
Which County Commission races were set or decided before the first vote was cast?
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2026 elections
ElectionsLaSonya Hall will run to replace Wanda Halbert in August
Most in the 11-candidate field talked about specific changes to the office that issues new vehicle tags, car titles and collects registration fees in addition to issuing marriage licenses and business permits.
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2026 elections
ElectionsWhich County Commission races were set or decided before the first vote was cast?
Six of the Shelby County Commission races were either decided or their general election match-ups were already set prior to Election Day.
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2026 elections
ElectionsEarly vote results show Lowery leading Democratic primary for county mayor
There were 57,164 early and absentee ballots in Shelby County prior to Tuesday’s Election Day. That batch of votes is the first counted by the election commission.
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2026 elections
ElectionsPolls close on Election Day
Follow The Daily Memphian’s election coverage for regular updates throughout the evening.
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Shelby County County Commission approves $200K in funding for MSCS takeover lawsuit
Shelby County commissioners voted to take money from county reserve funds to pay the possible cost of suing the state over a pending state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
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2026 elections
ElectionsPrimary election set stage for two more elections, bigger political questions
Here’s what is at stake and what to look for in the vote totals Tuesday evening.
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