LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The primary contest for Louisville Metro mayor drew the biggest and most diverse group of candidates in the city's history.
Now that the primary is over, candidates who lost but drew sizeable vote percentages, are still passionate about their causes but aren't ready to publicly support the candidates in their political party who beat them.
Democrats Tim Findley and Shameka Parrish-Wright said Craig Greenberg will need to show them a concrete plan of what he'll do to lift up Louisvillians if elected.
"I want to make sure that whoever I support in this general election has a community focus and that real changes will be made," Findley said.
Parrish-Wright said the candidate she chooses to support has to show tangible solutions and actions steps to moving forward.
Parrish-Wright also said she hasn't ruled out supporting GOP mayoral candidate Bill Dieruf.
"I told Craig Greenberg that we are in jeopardy of losing the Democratic seat to a Republican because Bill Dieruf never ran on being a Republican," Parrish-Wright said. "He's a nonpartisan mayor of Jeffersontown."
Parrish-Wright said she feels Dieruf can pull votes from moderate Democrats in November.
"That is a real threat," Parrish-Wright said. "Then there are some people who refuse to vote for Greenberg because of a lot of things that have happened. He has some fixing to do in those communities. It's not the time where whatever Democrat comes through is a guarantee for November. I don't think we're in that kind of time, so he's going to have to really put in work."
Both Parrish-Wright and Findley said they feel they lost this race, in part, because they didn't raise enough money.
Greenberg, who won, brought in $1.4 million in donations; David Nicholson, who got third, raised $627,000; Parrish-Wright, who got second, raised $71,000 and Findley, who got fourth, raised $51,000.
Despite bringing in just 5% worth of the total amount of donations that Greenberg did, Parrish-Wright got half as many votes as him.
About 18,000 people voted for Parrish-Wright. Greenberg got roughly 35,000 votes.
"Coming in number two has never felt this good, I will be honest with you," Parrish-Wright said.
State Rep. Attica Scott, who ran against State Senate Democratic leader Morgan McGarvey to replace U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth's seat, said she also isn't ready to support her competitor.
McGarvey got 63% of the vote. Scott got 37% of the vote.
"I have not spoken to him, but if we do speak, we have to talk about where our values and visions go in a separate direction than many of the people who supported me, and how do we bring that together?" Scott said. "The folks who supported me are not necessarily going to support someone who supported the west end TIF or doesn't believe we need to cancel student loan debt or doesn't support universal basic income. We got to figure out some things there first."
No matter who she ends up supporting come November, Scott said she doesn't want people to be deterred from voting in the General election.
"I want people to stay engaged, stay involved," Scott said. "There are lots of groups and organizations that are involved with the political process at every level and involved with government at every level. Get involved with one of those groups. Please don't lose hope. Please don't lose heart. We've got to keep fighting."
If the candidate you voted for didn't win the primary, these candidates suggest researching the candidates who won and talking to friends and family to help you determine who gets your vote in November. They also said to reach out to campaigns so candidates are aware of issues you'd like addressed.
"Any candidate that I support going forward has to show real tangible solutions and action steps to moving forward," Parrish-Wright said.
What's next for the candidates?
Findley said he feels this mayoral campaign put him on a path to a future in politics.
"We didn't get the outcome we wanted, but I think this sets the stage for the future," Findley said. "Real leadership is needed and I'm ready to step into that role."
Parrish-Wright said while she hasn't decided who she's voting for come November, she's still planning to participate in the general election by encouraging others to vote in November.
"I'm going to do my part," Parrish-Wright said. "I want everyone else to do their part of activating voters, helping them get to the polls, helping them to understand the value in their vote."
Scott said she will continue her work as a state representative through the end of her term.
"I've got the next several months as a state representative to continue showing up for the district that I represent and also showing up for our city," Scott said.
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