The 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Phil Bredesen Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 2002 with 50.6% of the vote and reel ...

was term-limited and unable to seek re-election to a third term in office.

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

mayor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

, the Republican nominee, defeated Democratic nominee Mike McWherter. News organizations ''

The Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the President of the United States, U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, a ...

'',

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...

, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' rated the gubernatorial election as leaning Republican, while '' The Rothenberg Political Report'' rated it as "Republican favored,"

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ne ...

and

Sabato's Crystal Ball ''Sabato's Crystal Ball'' is an online political newsletter and election handicapper. It predicts electoral outcomes for the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, U.S. governors, and U.S. presidential races, with elect ...

as "Likely Republican", and

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

as "Solid Republican."

Primary election

The primary election was held on August 5, 2010. A recorded debate Featuring 3 of the candidates, organized by campaign coordinator James Crenshaw, was held at the Scarett-Benett Center in Nashville, TN.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Mike McWherter, businessman, former attorney, son of former Governor

Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930April 4, 2011) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1973 ...

Republican primary

Candidates

, Mayor of

*Joe Kirkpatrick, businessman Withdrew from race * Basil Marceaux, Soddy Daisy resident *

Ron Ramsey Ronald Lynn Ramsey (; born November 20, 1955) is an American auctioneer, politician, and lobbyist, who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Tennessee and speaker of the State Senate from 2007 to 2017. A Republican from Blountville in East ...

, Lieutenant Governor *

Zach Wamp Zachary Paul Wamp (born October 28, 1957) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes large parts of East Tennessee ...

, U.S. Representative, 3rd district

Polling

Results

Independents

*Bayron Binkley, broker *Brandon Dodds, optometrist *Samuel David Duck, Independent

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

(withdrew from race and endorsed Brandon Dodds) *David Gatchell *June Griffin *Toni Hall *Floyd Knois *Boyce McCall *J. David Maharrey, Tea Party *Linda Kay Perry *James Reesor, Tennessee author *Thomas Smith II *Howard Switzer, Architect (Green Party nominee; listed on the ballot as an independent) *Carl Twofeathers Whitaker, Native American Indian Movement chief

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

(Percentages rounded to nearest 1/100th, will not add up fully to 100%)

References

External links

Tennessee Department of State – ElectionsTennessee Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Tennessee Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com
2010 Tennessee General Election
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Tennessee Governor
from ''

''
2010 Tennessee Governor – Haslam vs. McWherter
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ne ...

''
2010 Tennessee Governor's Race
from ''

''
Race Profile
in ''

'' ;Debates
Tennessee Gubernatorial Debate
on ''

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...

'', July 12, 2010
Tennessee Gubernatorial Debate
including independent candidates on ''IRN'', May 23, 2010 ;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Mike McWherter for GovernorSamuel David Duck for GovernorJames Reesor for GovernorCarl "Two Feathers" Whitaker for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee Gubernatorial Election, 2010

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010 United States gubernatorial elections