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The field for Memphis’ 2026 school board election is starting to take shape.
Campaign season kicked off Monday and candidates can now begin collecting qualifying signatures ahead of a Feb. 19 deadline for the May 5 primary.
Five incumbent Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members — Michelle McKissack, Natalie McKinney, Tamarques Porter, Sable Otey and Towanna Murphy — confirmed with Chalkbeat that they’re running for reelection. That includes four of the five members who are currently suing the election commission for cutting their terms short by putting all nine seats on the ballot this spring.
A handful of challengers have announced their campaigns, while another person indicated they’re strongly considering a run through campaign filings.
Amber Huett-Garcia, who currently represents District 8, will not seek reelection, as she is running for county commission. The other three incumbent board members did not respond to requests for confirmation.
The board is still waiting for the outcome of a lawsuit filed against the measure last week, which includes a preliminary injunction request to stop the Shelby County Election Commission from holding the races for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
“If I have to run again, I will,” board member Towanna Murphy, who represents District 7, said.
The Shelby County Commission put all nine seats up for grabs this spring after overriding a mayoral veto in October. MSCS board candidates will also run in a partisan primary for the first time this May, a decision made by both county Democratic and Republican parties that has drawn criticism from some incumbents and community members
“School board races should be nonpartisan, because classrooms aren’t red or blue,” District 5 board member Sable Otey said. “Decisions about literacy, safety, and student success should be guided by data and what’s best for kids, not party politics.”
Still, nearly all of the confirmed candidates, including Otey, say they’ll be running on the Democratic ticket. In one of the largest Democratic strongholds in Tennessee, the May primary will likely be more of a competitive battle than the Aug. 6 general election. Republican candidates will face an uphill battle to victory in the current districts.
Luke Cymbal, the vice chairman of Shelby County’s Republican party, said the group will back conservative candidates for the MSCS race despite the challenges ahead.
“We are going to give the city of Memphis a choice, and we are going to encourage them to look at how voting historically has worked out for the Memphis-Shelby County School District, which we say is a failure,” Cymbal said. “We will encourage them to vote differently.”
Cymbal said Republican candidates will most likely support efforts for a state takeover of MSCS, which could sway some Democratic voters who support further state intervention. The local party has already seen increased momentum, he said, because of their support for the megaelection.
Jon Carroll has worked for the state and local Democratic committees and PTAs for years. But this year, he’s running to take over the District 9 seat on the MSCS board. Caroll said the state takeover is probably inevitable regardless of who wins the 2026 seats, but the level of disruption is to be determined.
A lifelong Memphis resident, Carroll says he wants to improve the board’s budget and resource allocation process. He also hopes to increase funding for career and technical education programs and rebuild the community’s trust in MSCS.
“The community doesn’t trust the school board right now,” Carroll said. “They want professionalism; they want change.”
Here’s who is running so far, based on public announcements and documents filed with the local election board:
District 1
- Incumbent Michelle McKissack confirmed to Chalkbeat that she will run as a Democrat.
District 2
- Incumbent Chair Natalie McKinney, who’s facing shortened terms, confirmed to Chalkbeat that she will run as a Democrat.
District 3 (Incumbent Stephanie Love did not confirm whether she will run for reelection.)
District 4
- Incumbent Tamarques Porter, who’s facing shortened terms, confirmed to Chalkbeat that he will run as a Democrat.
District 5
- Incumbent Sable Otey, who’s facing shortened terms, confirmed to Chalkbeat that she will run as a Democrat.
District 6 (Incumbent Keith Williams did not confirm whether he will run for reelection.)
District 7
- Incumbent Towanna Murphy, who’s facing shortened terms, confirmed to Chalkbeat that she will run as a Democrat.
- Sonia Partick-Warr filed campaign documents with the election commission but did not list a party affiliation.
District 8 (Incumbent Amber Huett-Garcia will not be running for reelection.)
District 9 (Incumbent Joyce Dorse Coleman did not confirm whether she will run for reelection.)
- Jon Carroll confirmed to Chalkbeat that he will run as a Democrat.
This is a developing story that will be updated as candidates announce their campaigns.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
Bri Hatch 2025-12-22 18:05:07
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