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Cook: What on earth happened? Tim Kelly, Kim White and the Rush post

Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Mayoral candidate Tim Kelly watches as supporters arrive at a drive thru appreciation event for supporters at the Chattanooga Brewing Company in Chattanooga on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Mayoral candidate Tim Kelly watches as supporters arrive at a drive thru appreciation event for supporters at the Chattanooga Brewing Company in Chattanooga on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

By David Cook March 6, 2021 5 min read

To all the poll workers, campaign volunteers, voters, election officials and candidates who ran for the right reasons: Thank you. This pandemic year has reminded me of the Chattanoogans whose selfless work drives this city. Elections run smoothly here; thank you for everything known and unknown you did to help.

Now, the big question:

What happened?

In January, Tim Kelly’s lead in the race for Chattanooga mayor was 21 percent, according to polls, with Kim White at 15 percent.

In February, Kelly’s lead stretched to nearly 28 percent while White’s stayed flat at 15 percent.