MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. — Following a campaign that saw him do battle with the political giants in his community, Cole Taylor listened Tuesday night as it was revealed he lost out on becoming the county’s youngest commissioner by a single vote.
“I’m not going to contest the outcome,” the 26-year-old businessman said concerning the results that saw him fall one vote short of Carolyn Miller for the second Warren County Commission seat in the 10th District. “I’m going to take my one-vote loss with dignity.”
Taylor lost 227 to 226 to Miller. Both finished behind longtime Commissioner Gary Prater, who took the top spot in the race that encompasses most of the Centertown community. Incumbent Commissioner Joel Akers lost his re-election bid in the district, finishing behind Taylor and Miller with 143 votes.
Taylor’s narrow loss comes after he went door-to-door and conducted an aggressive campaign with personal interaction and campaign signs.
“I knew the odds were against me when I got in the race,” Taylor said, noting this was his first time to run for anything. “First you have Gary Prater who has been a commissioner for 16 years. Then, you have Carolyn Miller who was tax assessor for a long time and no one ever got close to beating her. I knew I was going to have to work hard.”
Taylor said his decision not to contest the election comes despite many people urging him to do so given the close margin of his loss. Instead, Taylor said he will learn from his loss and now has an appreciation about how important one vote can be. He says he will likely seek office again.
“We need some young people on the County Commission,” Taylor declared. “I ran a good race and accomplished a lot despite not winning.”
The election results will become official May 23. Election administrator Donna Smith said she does not foresee the numbers changing in the Centertown district since there are no provisional votes outstanding there.