Democrat Steve Mulroy defeated Republican incumbent Amy Weirich Thursday, Aug. 4, in the race for District Attorney General.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With all 142 precincts reporting, the unofficial totals showed Mulroy with 74,940 votes to Weirich\u2019s 58,582.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With 20 precincts still out late Thursday, Weirich had not conceded. She said she wanted to wait for all the numbers to be counted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers are not trending the way we wanted them to, but out of respect for that last voter that stood in line until 8:45 p.m. tonight, we\u2019re going to let those numbers play out, and we\u2019re going to see what the next hours bring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the headquarters Mulroy shared with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who won re-election, Mulroy and 200-300 attendees celebrated with dancing, karaoke and chants of \u201cOur DA!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Those in attendance included state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, Memphis City Councilwoman Patrice Robinson and Shelby County Commissioner-elect Britney Thornton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The race was the highest profile contest on the ballot as crime continues to rise in Shelby County. Other prosecutors nationally touting the same progressive platform that got Mulroy elected have met with mixed results, including a recall of the San Francisco District Attorney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When asked how he felt about the campaign, Mulroy was pragmatic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth candidates were battered and bruised. I mean, the rough and tumble of politics is something that sometimes can\u2019t be avoided,\u201d Mulroy said. \u201cI think by Shelby County standards, this was a pretty rough race. I wish that the tone of the campaign could have been a little bit dialed down a few notches.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mulroy said he will use various resources as he makes the transition from law professor to District Attorney.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people in the DA\u2019s office with institutional knowledge,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are defense lawyers who have a unique perspective on the problems of the DA\u2019s office. There are national criminal justice reform groups, some of whom, whose sole job is to advise reform prosecutors after they\u2019ve been elected during the transition period. There\u2019ll be no shortage of resources for me to draw upon.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mulroy will serve as the head prosecutor in Shelby County for the next eight years, the longest term of office for elected prosecutors in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n