2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election

The 2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Haslam was re-elected to a second term with 70.3% of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger Charles Brown. Improving on his performance from 2010, Haslam also carried every county in the state.^[2]

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2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 2010 November 4, 2014 2018 →
Turnout	35.97% [1] 5.35 pp
Nominee Bill Haslam Charles Brown Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 951,796 309,237 Percentage 70.31% 22.84%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Haslam:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90% Brown:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      50%      No data
Governor before election Bill Haslam Republican Elected Governor Bill Haslam Republican

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The primary elections took place on August 7, 2014, with Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Charles Brown winning their respective party nominations.

With no political experience, Charles Brown campaigned on raising speed limits on the interstate highways to 80 mph and putting the Bible back in schools.^[3] Some of the Tennessee Democratic Party members became concerned over Brown's candidacy when he said in an interview that he would like to put Bill Haslam in an electric chair and "turn it on about half throttle and let him smell a little bit."^[3][4][5][6]

Haslam, on the other hand, campaigned on jobs, economic development, education reform, workforce development, and conservative fiscal leadership.^[7][8]

As of 2026, this was the best performance in a Tennessee gubernatorial election since Buford Ellington's victory in 1966. This was also the last time a Republican candidate has won Davidson and Shelby counties in a statewide election.