The 2026 election season starts ... now

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 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.  Plus: Stanton neighbors welcome Ford's gas truck pivot Why Memphis requires liquor stores to be 1,500 feet away from a church or a school Coach Penny Hardaway says Tigers are struggling due to a lack of 'discipline, sacrifice and buy-in' The City of Memphis and the Memphis Firefighters Association are winding down litigation A man is sentenced for aiding a former cop in a murder cover-up The National Guard could be in Memphis well into 2026 after a court ruling