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Five Memphis-Shelby County board members want to stop the local election commission from preparing for May 5 primary races as their lawsuit against the 2026 board reset plays out in court.
The group requested a temporary restraining order from the Shelby County Chancery Court on Tuesday, more than two weeks after candidates began picking up petitions as the first step to securing their spots on the ballot. The court is set to hear arguments for the restraining order request on Jan. 26.
If granted, the measure would stop the Shelby County Election Commission from continuing to issue candidate petitions for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. In a response letter submitted Tuesday, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said halting that process would cause “electoral chaos.” Twenty-two candidates in those have already pulled petitions, signaling their intent to run in the May primary.
Board members Natalie McKinney, Stephanie Love, Tamarques Porter, Sable Otey, and Towanna Murphy, who currently represent those districts, filed an initial lawsuit against the election commission in December.
The group blames election leaders for putting all nine school board seats on the 2026 ballot, which will cut short their elected terms that began in 2024.
Board members say that they are being irreparably harmed by preparations made to fill their seats before the court issues an official opinion. But the state attorney general, on behalf of the local election commission, argues that it would be “practically impossible” to properly hold the school board races without preparation if the board loses its lawsuit.
The board is also calling for an expedited hearing and permanent injunction to stop the election commission from “taking any action to call for or make preparations for” the five district races beyond the petition process that ends on Feb. 19.
As of Dec. 31, none of the incumbents involved in the lawsuit had picked up their petitions despite almost all confirming that they would run for reelection if they have to. Murphy, who represents District 7, told Chalkbeat that the group is waiting for instruction from their attorneys.
Here are the candidates who have picked up qualifying petitions for the May 5 primary.
District 1
- Michelle R. McKissack (incumbent), Democrat
- Natoria Sherell Carpenter, Democrat
- Tamara Thompson, Democrat
District 2
- Norman Ray Redwing, Democrat
- Marcus Randolph, Democrat
- Ernest Gillespie (ran in 2024), Democrat
- Alexis Agnew, Democrat
- Jeffery Scarbrough, Republican
- Laquita Shanta Jones, Republican
District 3
- Tarnika Love-Anderson, Democrat
- Verlean Kelly, Democrat
- Jesse Kirk Jeff (ran in 2024), Democrat
- Valerie Wright, Independent
- Keith Antonio Houston, Independent
District 4
- Darlene W. LeSueur, Democrat
- Michelle Renee Jones, Democrat
- Cynthia A. Gentry, Democrat
- Patty Peters, Democrat
District 5
- Adrianna Butler, Democrat
- Vonetta Jones, Independent
- William David Kelly, Republican
- Carmilla Wheeler, Republican
District 6
- Juliette Eskridge, Democrat
- Contessa Glorianna Humphrey, Democrat
- Frederick Dewayne Tappan, Independent
District 7
- Danielle La-sha Huggins (ran in 2024), Democrat
- Tamika Abrum, Democrat
- Sonia P. Warr, Independent
District 8 (Incumbent Amber Huett-Garcia will not be running for reelection.)
- Toshina Williams-Webb, Democrat
- Alfred Dexter Dyson, Democrat
- Ayleem Connolly, Democrat
- Newton Morgan, Independent
District 9
- Jonathan Carroll, Democrat
- Damon Curry Morris, Democrat
- Louis Morganfield, Democrat
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
