The AM/DM podcast: The 2026 election season starts ... now
Shelby County residents vote as others get their ballots at Whitehaven Community Center on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Benjamin Naylor/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
The AM/DM is The Daily Memphian’s weekday podcast. Listen in every morning around 6:30 a.m. to get the news you need for the day, as well as a critical — but quick — interview on a larger story.
This week marks Christmas and the start of the winter holidays for public school students around the entirety of Shelby County.
But today is also the day when candidates in the first of three 2026 elections in Shelby County can begin filling out qualifying petitions to run for office.
And because of term limits, Shelby County will see a new mayor, new sheriff and new county clerk — positions currently held by Lee Harris, Floyd Bonner Jr. and Wanda Halbert, respectively — elected in 2026.
Shelby County is also guaranteed eight new County Commissioners in the year’s upcoming election.
And then there are the school board races, which will have local partisan primaries for the first time ever.
Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and political reporter Bill Dries dive a little deeper into this first step of the elections.
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AM/DMMary Cashiola
Mary Cashiola has been a Memphis journalist for nearly two decades, beginning her career covering city government and local neighborhoods at the Memphis Flyer before being hired by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration.
Before joining The Daily Memphian, she was the managing editor of the Memphis Business Journal, which was named one of the top 10 Best Designed Newspapers in the world by the Society of News Design while she was there.
She also has a background in advertising, with a focus on higher education and the hospitality industry.
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