Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2006

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The Tennessee gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. The incumbent, Democrat Phil Bredesen, defeated Republican state Senator Jim Bryson to serve another term as Governor.

Contents 1 Candidates 1.1 Democratic Party 1.1.1 Defeated in primary 1.2 Republican Party 1.2.1 Defeated in primary 1.3 Independents 2 Primaries 3 General election 3.1 Results 4 Polling 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Candidates

[edit] Democratic Party

• Phil Bredesen - Incumbent Governor

[edit] Defeated in primary

• John Jay Hooker - perennial candidate
• Tim Sevier
• Walt "Combat" Ward - State probation officer

[edit] Republican Party

• Jim Bryson - state Senator

[edit] Defeated in primary

• Mark Albertini - building contractor, attorney. Arrested in Knoxville on July 21, 2006, on charges of public intoxication following a GOP rally. [1]
• Wayne Bailey
• David M. Farmer
• Joe Kirkpatrick
• Timothy Thomas
• Wayne Young

[edit] Independents

• George Banks
• David Gatchell
• Stout Leinoff
• Charles E. Smith
• Howard M. Switzer - Green Party candidate
• Carl Whitaker - Jefferson Republican Party candidate

[edit] Primaries

Both parties held their primary elections on August 3, 2006.

Democratic Governor Bredesen easily defeated the opposition, gaining 88.6% of ballots cast. Perennial candidate John Jay Hooker (also running for the Senate nomination) gained 7.2%, Tim Sevier received 2.6% of the vote, and Walt "Combat" Ward received 1.7% of the votes cast.

The Republican primaries were only slightly more competitive. Frontrunner Jim Bryson, who filed papers to enter the race at the last minute, gained an even 50.0% of the vote. Other contenders were David M. Farmer with 15.8%; Joe Kirkpatrick at 10.7%; Mark Albertini at 9.2%; Wayne Bailey at 7.5%; Wayne Young with 3.7%; and Timothy Thomas at 3.0% of the ballots cast.

[edit] General election

Bryson and Bredesen took part in the first of three planned debates on October 3 in Knoxville.[2] A second debate was held in Memphis on October 8, and a third on October 14 in Nashville.

Pre-election polls indicated that Bredesen would easily win reelection: an October 3 poll showed Bredesen held a 63% to 22% lead over Bryson.[3]

[edit] Results

2006 gubernatorial election, Tennessee
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phil Bredesen (incumbent)	1,241,606	68.6	+17.9
	Republican	Jim Bryson	538,508	29.7	-17.9
	Independent	Carl Whitaker	11,298	0.6	+0.3
	Independent	George Banks	7,506	0.4	n/a
	Independent	Charles E. Smith	4,062	0.2	n/a
	Green	Howard Switzer	2,681	0.1	n/a
	Independent	David Gatchell	2,374	0.1	n/a
	Independent	Marivuana Stout Leinoff	2,105	0.1	n/a
Majority			703,098	38.9
Turnout			1,810,140
	Democratic hold		Swing

[edit] Polling

Source	Date	Bredesen (D)	Bryson (R)
Survey USA	October 25, 2006	66%	28%
Survey USA	October 10, 2006	63%	32%
The Commercial Appeal	October 3, 2006	63%	22%
Rasmussen	October 3, 2006	63%	28%
Rasmussen	September 7, 2006	58%	31%
Zogby	June 13, 2006	58%	22%

[edit] See also

• U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006

[edit] External links

• Mark Albertini Campaign Site
• Bredesen Campaign Site
• Jim Bryson for Governor site
• Combat Ward Governor Site
• Carl Whitaker for Governor
• Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker site