Tennessee GOP Removes Judge Joe Brown from 2026 Shelby County Mayoral Primary Ballot After Party Declares Him Not a “Bona Fide” Republican

Former television personality and longtime Memphis jurist Judge Joe Brown has officially been removed from the Republican primary ballot in the 2026 Shelby County mayoral race.

According to Shelby County GOP Vice Chairman Luke Cymbal, the state party made the decision Thursday to strike Brown from the certified list of Republican candidates eligible to compete in the upcoming primary election, citing his past voting record as failing to meet the party’s criteria for bona fide Republican status, Action News 5 reported.

JUST IN: Judge Joe Brown has been removed from the Republican Party primary ballot in Memphis. Judge Joe was running for county mayor. The GOP say he’s not a bona-fide Republican.

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) February 26, 2026

Judge Brown, who announced his campaign for county mayor earlier this month, had sought to run under the Republican banner in the May 5 primary. But party leadership intervened and ruled that he failed to meet internal membership standards required to qualify as an official Republican candidate.

Under Tennessee Republican Party bylaws, the state executive committee has the power to determine who is and isn’t a “real” Republican. To be considered “bona fide,” a candidate usually must have voted in three of the last four Republican primaries or be “vouched for” by local party leadership.

This effectively bars Brown from appearing on the GOP primary ballot unless a formal appeal is successful.

The Shelby County Republican Party has already thrown its support behind former State Representative John DeBerry as its preferred candidate in the mayoral primary.

It can be recalled that Judge Joe Brown unleashed a torrent of criticism against several high-profile individuals, including John Legend, Fani Willis, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, whom he referred to as a “lowdown scummy bastard” and “a piece of urban trailer park trash.”

Judge Joe Brown also destroyed Kamala Harris’s run for the presidency after one brutally honest interview.

Judge Brown told Dialogue what he really feels about the former California mistress turned politician.

Judge Joe Brown: She’s a piece of sh*t. I was in California. She lacked professional competence, and she worked on it by hiking up her hem line when she needed influence rather than researching. She’s always tried to do the casting couch to get where she wants.

Judge Joe Brown has not yet issued a formal statement regarding a potential legal challenge or an independent run.

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