2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election
The 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Knoxville mayor and Republican nominee, Bill Haslam was elected with 65.0% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Mike McWherter.
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Turnout | 41.32% 8.65 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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County results Haslam: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% McWherter: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Tennessee |
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Government |
The primary election was held on August 5, 2010, with Haslam and McWherter winning their respective parties' nominations.
With this win, Haslam flipped the state into Republican control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Republicans. The last time Republicans held a government trifecta in the state was in 1869. Ever since this election, Republicans have maintained their trifecta.
News organizations The Cook Political Report, CQ Politics, and The New York Times rated the gubernatorial election as leaning Republican, while The Rothenberg Political Report rated it as "Republican favored," RealClearPolitics and Sabato's Crystal Ball as "Likely Republican", and Rasmussen Reports as "Solid Republican."