The 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the next

governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

, alongside other state and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Democratic governor

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 (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected in ...

was

term-limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, wher ...

ed, and is prohibited by the

Constitution of Tennessee The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules (and means for changing them) of the U.S. State of Tennessee. The original constitution of Tennessee came into effect on June 1, ...

from seeking a third consecutive term.

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

mayor and Republican nominee,

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 ...

was elected with 65.0% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee

Mike McWherter Michael Ray McWherter is an American lawyer, businessman and politician from the state of Tennessee. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2010. Early life, education and career The son of former Tennessee governor Ned McWhe ...

. The

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

was held on August 5, 2010, with Haslam and McWherter winning their respective parties' nominations. Haslam received endorsements from former U.S. senator

Howard Baker Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 June 26, 2014) was an American politician, diplomat and photographer who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Senate Minority Le ...

and Congressman Jimmy Duncan. ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...

'' wrote, "Haslam appears most likely to be able to ride Gov.

's pro-business coattails, despite the different party affiliation."'''' Haslam campaigned on his executive experience as both Knoxville's mayor and the president of a major company. His opponents attacked him as an oil executive, especially in the wake of price-gouging allegations levied against Pilot in the wake of the post-

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

fuel shortages, and criticized his refusal to release information related to his income while at Pilot. With this win, Haslam flipped the state into Republican control, with the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

also being controlled by Republicans. The last time Republicans held a

government trifecta A government trifecta is a political situation in which the same political party controls the Executive (government), executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch in countries that have a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature and a ...

in the state was in

1869 Events January * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – Elizabe ...

. Ever since this election, Republicans have maintained their trifecta. News organizations ''

The Cook Political Report Amy Elizabeth Walter (born October 19, 1969)"Profile: Amy Walter"
CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' rated the gubernatorial election as leaning Republican, while ''

The Rothenberg Political Report Stuart Rothenberg (born 1948) is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst. He is best known for his biweekly political newsletter ''The Rothenberg Political Report'', now known as ''Inside Elections''. He was also a regular columnis ...

'' rated it as "Republican favored,"

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected polit ...

and

Sabato's Crystal Ball Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center f ...

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."

Republican primary

A recorded debate featuring 3 of the candidates, organized by campaign coordinator James Crenshaw, was held at the Scarett-Benett Center in Nashville, TN. From July 1, 2009, until January 15, 2010, Haslam collected $1.8 million, Ramsey raised $1,412,593 including a $200,000 loan, Wamp raised $1,373,078 including a $61,000 loan, and Gibbons raised $225,218.

Candidates

, Mayor of

* Joe Kirkpatrick, businessman Withdrew from race *

Basil Marceaux Basil Marceaux, Sr. (born May 26, 1952) is an American perennial candidate who has on multiple occasions run for state and federal public office in Tennessee. Most recently, he has filed as a candidate in the 2022 gubernatorial election as a ...

, 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 Ea ...

, 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

Democratic primary

From July 1, 2009, until January 15, 2010, State Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle collected $741,485 including a $300,000 personal loan, McWherter raised $402,868, and McMillan raised $159,981.

Candidates

, 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 19 ...

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 call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

(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

By county

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

References

External links

Tennessee Department of State – Elections

Tennessee Governor Candidates
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American 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 offic ...

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. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected politi ...

''
2010 Tennessee Governor's Race
from ''

CQ Politics ''Congressional Quarterly'', or ''CQ'', is an American publication that is part of the privately owned publishing company CQ Roll Call, which covers the United States Congress. ''CQ'' was formerly acquired by the U.K.-based The Economist Group, ...

''
Race Profile
in ''

'' Debates
Tennessee Gubernatorial Debate
on ''

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

'', July 12, 2010
Tennessee Gubernatorial Debate
including independent candidates on ''IRN'', May 23, 2010 Official campaign websites (Archived)

Mike McWherter for Governor

Samuel David Duck for Governor

James Reesor for Governor

Carl "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, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2010 United States gubernatorial elections

Republican primary

Candidates

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Independents

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

By county

See also

References

External links