2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election
The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next Governor of Tennessee. The primaries took place on August 2, with Republican Bill Lee and Democrat Karl Dean winning their respective party nominations.
Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Haslam was term-limited and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. As of February 2019, the election had the largest number of candidates in a statewide election in United States history; the previous record was the 2016 United States presidential election in Colorado. This large surge in candidates was mostly due to the Libertarian Party of Tennessee's protest of the state's party affiliation and ballot access laws.
Lee was elected with nearly 60% of the vote. This is the first time since 1982 that a candidate from the incumbent U.S. President's party was elected Governor of Tennessee.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Bill Lee, businessman
Eliminated in primary
- Diane Black, U.S. Representative
- Randy Boyd, former Tennessee cabinet official
- Beth Harwell, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Basil Marceaux, perennial candidate
- Kay White, realtor
Withdrawn
- Mae Beavers, former state senator
- Mark Green, state senator
Declined
- Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Representative
- Tim Burchett, Mayor of Knox County
- Joe Carr, former state representative, perennial candidate
- Bob Corker, U.S. Senator
- Stephen Fincher, former U.S. Representative
- Alberto Gonzales, dean of the Belmont University School of Law and former U.S. Attorney General
- Bill Hagerty, United States Ambassador to Japan and former Tennessee cabinet official
- Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State
- Rob Mitchell, Rutherford County property assessor
- Mark Norris, Majority Leader of the Tennessee Senate, appointed as judge to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
- Andy Ogles, director of Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity
- Ron Ramsey, former Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee and candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 2010
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Karl Dean, former Mayor of Nashville, 2007–2015
Eliminated in primary
- Craig Fitzhugh, Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Mezianne Vale Payne, retiree
Declined
- Andy Berke, Mayor of Chattanooga and former state senator
- Bill Freeman, businessman and candidate for Mayor of Nashville in 2015
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Independents
Candidates
- Mark CoonRippy Brown
- Sherry L. Clark
- Justin Cornett
- Gabriel Fancher
- Sean Bruce Fleming
- William Andrew Helmstetter
- Cory King
- Matthew Koch
- Yvonne Neubert
- Alfred Shawn Rapoza
- Chad Riden, comedian
- Heather Scott
- George Blackwell Smith IV
- Jeremy Allen Stephenson
- Tracy Yaste Tisdale
- Mike Toews
- Rick Tyler, candidate for TN-03 in 2016
- Vinnie Vineyard
- Jaron D. Weidner
- Joe B. Wilmoth
- Patrick Whitlock
General election
Debates
- , October 2, 2018
- , October 12, 2018
Endorsements
Predictions
;NotesPolling
Hypothetical polling | - | - | - | - | - | - |
;with Karl Dean Results
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