Michael Ray McWherter is an American lawyer, businessman and politician from the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He was the Democratic nominee for

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 ...

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 ...

Early life, education and career

The son of former Tennessee 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 ...

, McWherter is a native of

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its geography consists ...

. He graduated from Union City High School, and planned on attending

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

before changing his mind. McWherter earned his Bachelor of Arts and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, after which he worked in private practice in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He later moved to Jackson to start his own business. McWherter operates the family's beer distribution business in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. He is also the chairman of the board of First State Bank, headquartered in Union City, and serves on the board of directors for the Jackson Energy Authority.

Political career

Although he has never held elected office, McWherter made an attempt to challenge Republican

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

in the 2008 election. He opted out over fundraising concerns and an intense campaign season.

2010 Tennessee gubernatorial campaign

On April 23, 2009, he announced he would run for

in the 2010 election. McWherter said he will run on a platform of jobs, education and fiscal responsibility. Incumbent Tennessee 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 ...

, endorsed McWherter's candidacy. He was reported as supporting a ban on unmarried (including gay) couples adopting children, indicating that he feels "having parents of the opposite sex is better for a child." In the same interview he also agreed that "foster care by an opposite-sex couple was better than adoption by a same-sex couple." McWherter supports teaching intelligent design creationism in schools alongside scientific evolution. Asked about teaching intelligent design at a debate, he replied, "I think there's a place to talk about evolution in our public schools, but I prefer a more traditional curriculum. We can blend science and religion in that regard." McWherter was defeated in the general election by

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 ...

. McWherter announced on September 6, 2013, that he would not contest a second gubernatorial run in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Personal life

McWherter lives in Jackson with his wife, Mary Jane, their son Walker, and daughter Bess.

References

External links

Mike McWherter for Tennessee Governor 2010
''official campaign site'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McWherter, Mike 1955 births Living people People from Jackson, Tennessee Tennessee Democrats Vanderbilt University alumni