Funding Patterns
Shelby County candidates ranked by where their money comes from — small-dollar and self-funding — plus the notable anomalies underneath. Every line links to the records behind it.
Funding patterns
Every Shelby County candidate ranked by where their money comes from. Each ranking is sorted by share — the dependence question — with a floor on how much a campaign raised so a tiny total can't top the chart, plus a "largest by dollars" cut for the biggest raw amounts.
Ranked by small-donor share
Candidates ranked by the share of their money that arrived in gifts of $200 or less — a proxy for how broad a grassroots base a campaign draws on.
| # | Candidate | Office | Share | Small-donor $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawrence Denton Jr. | Criminal Court Clerk | 54% | $15,093 of $28K |
| 2 | Arriell Gipson-Martin | County Clerk | 48% | $5,626 of $12K |
| 3 | Lashanta Rudd | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 10 | 46% | $2,431 of $5K |
| 4 | Carla Stotts | Criminal Court Clerk | 45% | $3,703 of $8K |
| 5 | Marie Feagins | Shelby County Mayor | 37% | $10,079 of $28K |
| 6 | Sade Nicole Bradley | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 1 | 36% | $1,928 of $5K |
| 7 | Ayleem Connolly | County School Bd., Dist. 8 | 31% | $6,700 of $21K |
| 8 | Heather Fisher | Germantown School Bd., Pos. 2 | 30% | $1,945 of $6K |
| 9 | Jonathan Carroll | County School Bd., Dist. 9 | 29% | $6,022 of $20K |
| 10 | Michael Ebbs | Collierville School Bd., Pos. 2 | 29% | $4,563 of $16K |
| 11 | Keeley Greer | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 8 | 28% | $2,970 of $11K |
| 12 | Thomas B. Lannan | Assessor of Property | 27% | $2,665 of $10K |
| 13 | John Luke Bradley | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 10 | 26% | $4,980 of $19K |
| 14 | Jewel Jordan | Collierville Alderman, Pos. 2 | 26% | $4,807 of $19K |
| 15 | Ricky Dixon | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 9 | 25% | $1,450 of $6K |
Largest by dollars: Mickell Lowery $100K · JB Smiley $76K · Anthony Buckner $68K · LaSonya Hall $33K · Taylor Eskridge Bachelor $25K
Ranked by self-funding share
Candidates ranked by how much of their campaign they funded themselves — direct contributions plus personal and family loans. Skin in the game, or a thin donor base; the data only says where the money came from.
| # | Candidate | Office | Share | Own money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Ingram Jr | Criminal Court Judge, Div. VIII | 100% | $25,000 of $25K |
| 2 | Latonya Burrow | Criminal Court Judge, Div. VIII | 95% | $37,258 of $39K |
| 3 | Ester B. Moore | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 7 | 91% | $10,000 of $11K |
| 4 | Marcy Ingram | Gen. Sess. Civil Ct. Judge, Div. 2 | 90% | $81,209 of $91K |
| 5 | Keisha Scott | Sheriff | 87% | $18,200 of $21K |
| 6 | Lena Chipman | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 13 | 70% | $40,182 of $58K |
| 7 | Regina Newman | County Trustee | 69% | $11,351 of $16K |
| 8 | Eddie Jones | Probate Court Clerk | 68% | $20,349 of $30K |
| 9 | Teresa Maclin-Garvins | Juvenile Court Clerk | 67% | $7,000 of $10K |
| 10 | Karen Streeter | Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 9 | 63% | $30,101 of $48K |
| 11 | Joseph Lee, III | County Trustee | 59% | $45,636 of $77K |
| 12 | Shayla Purifoy | Gen. Sess. Civil Ct. Judge, Div. 2 | 57% | $76,097 of $133K |
| 13 | Brad Less | Sheriff | 54% | $35,832 of $67K |
| 14 | Juliette Eskridge | County School Bd., Dist. 6 | 48% | $8,000 of $17K |
| 15 | J.W. Gibson, II | Shelby County Mayor | 47% | $46,000 of $97K |
Largest by dollars: Heidi Kuhn $133K · Marcy Ingram $81K · Shayla Purifoy $76K · Mickell Lowery $70K · Harold Collins $53K
Notable patterns
Patterns worth a second look — the kind that usually take a spreadsheet to find.
Single-employer donor blocs
Three or more donors who share an employer, giving to the same candidate. A bloc can be ordinary workplace enthusiasm or coordinated giving worth a closer look. “At least” because employer spellings we have not linked may add more. A candidate running for more than one office at once is counted once, across every campaign they are running.
| Employer | Candidate | Donors | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County Sheriff's Office | Anthony Buckner (Sheriff) | at least 125 | $131,076 |
| Shelby County Government | Harold Collins (Shelby County Mayor) | at least 6 | $30,650 |
| Shelby County Government | Anthony Buckner (Sheriff) | at least 19 | $23,645 |
| Boyle Investment Co. | Derek Mills (Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 2) | at least 5 | $16,200 |
| Boyle Investment Co. | John J. Deberry Jr. (Shelby County Mayor) | at least 5 | $14,300 |
| FedEx | Mickell Lowery (Shelby County Mayor +1 more) | at least 16 | $14,146 |
| Tower Ventures | Mark Billingsley (Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 4) | at least 6 | $13,900 |
| Shelby County Government | Mickell Lowery (Shelby County Mayor +1 more) | at least 22 | $11,690 |
| Landmark Construction | Derek Mills (Shelby County Commissioner, Dist. 2) | at least 3 | $11,400 |
| Shelby County Government | Heidi Kuhn (Shelby County Mayor +1 more) | at least 16 | $11,396 |
| Tower Ventures | Jana Swearengen-Washington (Memphis City Council, Dist. 4) | at least 6 | $10,900 |
| MFA Project Management | Paul Young (Memphis Mayor) | at least 6 | $10,800 |
| First Horizon Bank | Paul Young (Memphis Mayor) | at least 8 | $10,700 |
| Shelby County Government | JB Smiley (Shelby County Mayor +1 more) | at least 14 | $10,239 |
| Boyle Investment Co. | JB Smiley (Shelby County Mayor +1 more) | at least 6 | $10,118 |
How these lists are built: every row derives from Shelby County records already published on this site — no new disclosure, only new sorts. The funding-pattern rankings require a candidate to have raised a minimum ($10,000 for self-funding, $25,000 for out-of-state, $5,000 for small-donor) and to clear a 25% share, then rank by share; the "largest by dollars" cut drops the share floor to surface the biggest raw amounts. Small gifts are ≤$200. Notable patterns: employer blocs need 3+ donors sharing an employer and $5,000 combined, at most 2 per candidate. Rankings cap at 15 rows.