Candidates react to runoff election for Jackson mayor

JACKSON, Tenn. — Two candidates for city of Jackson mayor will face one another in a runoff election next month.

Scott Conger and Jerry Woods will campaign again against one another ahead of the June 18 runoff election date. Early voting for the runoff election will be May 29 to June 13.

Conger received 34.14 percent of votes. Woods received 27.56 percent of votes.

Election Results: See the complete unofficial results of the municipal election here.

At his watch party, Conger said it’s clear his message is resonating with Jackson residents, and he is grateful for everyone who came to vote Tuesday and during early voting.

“[I’m] thankful and grateful that so many people in the city of Jackson believed in what we were saying, what we’ve been saying since August, to have an efficient, transparent and inclusive government that includes everyone,” Conger said. “So our message is resonating and we want to continue that for the next six weeks.”

Woods said his campaign’s inclusivity and grassroots nature are what propelled him.

“We started out with this theme that there’s a place for everyone who wants to be in this campaign, and there’s a place for everyone if they want to do it,” Woods said. “There’s a place for everyone because it’s a grassroots campaign. We had a lot of small donations that they put together.”

Former State Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, who received 25.22 percent of votes, says that while he would like the results to have been different, he is fine with the outcome of the election.

“I’m fine with the results. I wish that they would have been different, but I’m fine because you know I gave it to the Lord a long time ago,” Eldridge said. “I said, ‘You knew a million years ago who was going to be the Mayor today.'”

Mark Johnstone received 10.71% of votes. Vicky Foote received 2.37%.

The city of Jackson has not had a runoff election since 1971, when President Richard Nixon was in office.