Here’s one for the riddle-me-this types: Why is it, at a time when the demographics of Memphis and Shelby County are demonstrably and overwhelmingly Democratic, that local Republicans are by far the more successful of the two parties in turning out crowds for their partisan events?
A case in point was the GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, held last Saturday night at the East Memphis Hilton. As is generally the case with this event, regardless of venue, the ballroom was filled to capacity, every table fully stocked, every seat taken and paid for. A veritable sea of people from wall to wall.
So is it ever at Lincoln Day, and the attendees normally include an impressive number of non-Republicans — especially among nonpartisan public officials, judges, Memphis city officials, and the like.
There may have been a bit of fall-off among such attendees this year. Among declared Memphis mayoral candidates, there were only Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Memphis City Councilman Frank Colvett, and former County Commissioner James Harvey; the latter two are self-described Republicans, while Bonner, a Democrat, not only ran with his party’s nomination in last year’s county election, but also had the formal support of the Republican Party, which did not field a candidate of its own.
Assorted judges were also on hand at Saturday night’s GOP event, though perhaps fewer than usual, inasmuch as the members of the Shelby judiciary were elected en masse last year to brand-new eight-year terms, and their need to see and be seen is arguably not as great this year as perhaps it would be closer to re-election time.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who still identifies as a Democrat, is a frequent attendee at Lincoln Day, though he skipped this year.
The point remains that the Republicans’ annual local banquet customarily attracts partisan crossovers, a phenomenon that does not exist on the other side of the partisan scale. Unfortunately, there is no way to make effective comparisons. The fact is, the Shelby County Democratic Party has had very few party-sponsored dinner gatherings as such in recent years, opting instead for “roast” affairs featuring comedy acts or for after-hours parties in bistros with bands.
Changes in political fashion over the years have altered the nomenclature of what has sporadically been an equivalent of sorts to the Republicans’ Lincoln Day banquet. What now goes by the name of Kennedy-Obama Dinner has happened only occasionally in recent years. Both local parties suspended their party banquets for at least a year during the pandemic, but the Republicans have resumed, and the Democrats haven’t.
As it happens, the Shelby County Democrats will be voting next month for new officers and a new party assembly. One of the county’s best-known local Democrats is Dave Cambron, president of the Germantown Democrats, a well-organized body that holds frequent and well-attended meetings, often on general-interest subjects, and welcomes guests.
“It’s time for us to start back holding regular annual party banquets,” says Cambron. “Why not? We are the majority party, and we need to keep our doors open.”
For the record, by the way, the keynote speaker at this year’s Lincoln Day banquet was former Congressman Lee Zeldin of New York, who made a spirited race for governor in 2022 and boasted Tuesday night that he had helped elect several Republicans to Congress from his state. He didn’t mention it, but one of them was named George Santos.
