2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election
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The 2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic governor Phil Bredesen was re-elected to a second term with 68.6% of the vote, defeating his Republican challenger Jim Bryson. Improving on his performance from 2002, Bredesen also carried every county in the state.[2]
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November 7, 2006
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| Turnout | 49.97%  [1] 0.43 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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   Bredesen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bryson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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As of 2026, this was the last time a Democrat won a majority of counties in the state, the last time a Democrat won any statewide race in Tennessee, and the most recent statewide election in Tennessee in which 88 of the state's 95 counties, including Knox County and Hamilton County, went to the Democratic candidate. Only Davidson, Shelby, Haywood, Hardeman, Houston, Jackson, and Lake counties have voted for a Democratic candidate in a presidential, senatorial, or gubernatorial race since 2006. Eight years after this, Republican governor Bill Haslam would win every county in the state when he won re-election.
Background
Phil Bredesen became governor amid a fiscal crisis, with a predicted state budget shortfall of $800 million. Much of the shortfall was due to TennCare, which was $650 million over budget.[3] Sundquist had hoped to remedy the budget shortfall by implementing an income tax, but this proved wildly unpopular and was never enacted.[4] Bredesen argued that services would have to be cut, saying, "you can't have Massachusetts services and Tennessee taxes."[4] In 2003, he signed a 9% across-the-board spending cut.[3] In 2004, he enacted a series of changes to TennCare, essentially removing 191,000 Medicaid-eligible patients and reducing benefits.[3] By 2006, these changes had reduced the program's cost by more than $500 million.[3] Bredesen used some of the savings to establish a "safety net" for health clinics affected by the cuts. In 2006, he implemented "Cover Tennessee" to cover people with preexisting conditions and the uninsured.[3]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Phil Bredesen, incumbent governor of Tennessee
- John Jay Hooker, perennial candidate
- Tim Sevier
- Walt Ward
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen (incumbent) | 393,004 | 88.50% | |
| Democratic | John Jay Hooker | 31,933 | 7.19% | |
| Democratic | Tim Sevier | 11,562 | 2.60% | |
| Democratic | Walt Ward | 7,555 | 1.70% | |
| Total votes | 444,054 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Jim Bryson, state senator
- David M. Farmer
- Joe Kirkpatrick
- Mark Albertini
- Wayne Thomas Bailey
- Wayne Young
- Timothy Thomas
Results
- <40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- <40%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Bryson | 160,786 | 50.03% | |
| Republican | David M. Farmer | 50,900 | 15.84% | |
| Republican | Joe Kirkpatrick | 34,491 | 10.73% | |
| Republican | Mark Albertini | 29,184 | 9.08% | |
| Republican | Wayne Thomas Bailey | 24,273 | 7.55% | |
| Republican | Wayne Young | 11,997 | 3.73% | |
| Republican | Timothy Thomas | 9,747 | 3.03% | |
| Total votes | 321,378 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Phil Bredesen (D)
- Jim Bryson (R)
- Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
- George Banks (I)
- Charles E. Smith (I)
- Howard W. Switzer (I)
- David Gatchell (I)
- Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[7] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[8] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[9] | Safe D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[10] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Source | Date | Phil Bredesen (D) |
Jim Bryson (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA[11] | October 25, 2006 | 66% | 28% |
| Survey USA[12] | October 10, 2006 | 63% | 32% |
| Accuratings[13] | October 24, 2006 | 67% | 33% |
| The Commercial Appeal[14] | October 3, 2006 | 63% | 22% |
| Rasmussen[15] | October 3, 2006 | 63% | 28% |
| Rasmussen[16] | September 7, 2006 | 58% | 31% |
| Zogby[17] | June 13, 2006 | 58% | 22% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen (incumbent) | 1,247,491 | 68.60% | +17.95% | |
| Republican | Jim Bryson | 540,853 | 29.74% | −17.85% | |
| Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 11,374 | 0.63% | N/A | |
| Independent | George Banks | 7,531 | 0.41% | N/A | |
| Independent | Charles E. Smith | 4,083 | 0.22% | N/A | |
| Independent | Howard W. Switzer | 2,711 | 0.15% | N/A | |
| Independent | David Gatchell | 2,385 | 0.13% | N/A | |
| Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 2,114 | 0.12% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 7 | 0.00% | N/A | ||
| Majority | 706,638 | 38.86% | +35.80% | ||
| Turnout | 1,818,549 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
By county
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
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See also
- 2006 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee
- 2006 Tennessee elections