1948 Tennessee gubernatorial election

none related races 1948 United States gubernatorial elections January 2025 September 2023 1948 Tennessee gubernatorial election Tennessee Presidential no 1946 Tennessee gubernatorial election 1946 1950 Tennessee gubernatorial election 1950 November 2, 1948 File:Gordon Browning (TN).png 150x150px Gordon Browning Democratic Party (United States) 363,903 66.91% File:Roy Acuff 1950.JPG Roy Acuff Republican Party (United States) 179,957 33.09% 1948 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsBrowning: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90% #0d056c >90%Acuff: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% Governor Jim Nance McCord Democratic Party (United States) Gordon Browning Democratic Party (United States) The 1948 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1948. Former Democratic governor Gordon Browning once again sought the party's nomination for governor. In the hardly fought primary, Browning comfortably defeated Governor Jim Nance McCord.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. In the general election, Browning easily defeated Republican nominee Roy Acuff, a famous country musician, with 66.9% of the vote. Before this election, Gordon Browning was last elected governor of Tennessee in 1936. He lost his re-election primary in 1938, and he failed the first time to defeat Governor McCord in 1946. Background and context Realizing it would take a considerable effort to defeat the powerful Memphis political organization led by E. H. Crump, which had dominated Tennessee Democratic politics for decades and with whom he had previously fallen out, Gordon Browning teamed up with Congressman Estes Kefauver, who was challenging Crump's candidate, Tom Stewart, for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats. Crump ran attack ads against Browning and Kefauver, criticizing the former for issuing too many pardons as governor, and accusing the latter of being a communist sympathizer. Browning compared Crump to Adolf Hitler, and told stories about Crump sneaking through Memphis cemeteries at night to find names of dead people to add to voter lists.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. He also attacked Governor Jim Nance McCord for implementing a 2% state sales tax (which Crump had reluctantly supported).Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. As the campaign heated up, Crump's hold on state politics appeared to be weakening. Congressman Al Gore, Sr. returned from Washington to canvass for Browning.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. Various voting blocks began turning against Crump, among them black voters in Memphis, who had grown tired of his control of the city's political system. Returning veterans sympathized with Browning's military experience, while labor groups were angry with McCord for enacting a right-to-work law.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. On election day, Browning defeated McCord for the nomination, and Kefauver defeated Stewart. It was the first defeat for a Crump-backed candidate in a major election in over two decades.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. In the general election, Browning faced country music singer Roy Acuff. Republicans had added Acuff's name to their primary ballot as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the party, and he unexpectedly won the nomination. Though Acuff ran a serious campaign, Browning nevertheless won easily.Our Campaigns - TN Governor, 1948. Retrieved: 13 December 2012. During his second tenure as governor, Browning enacted several measures aimed at further weakening Crump and other political bosses, including laws requiring permanent voter registration, open election commission meetings, and metal ballot boxes in places where voting machines were not used.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. Browning signed legislation that partially eliminated the state's poll tax, which political bosses had used for decades to control votes.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 325-329, 340-350. Primary elections Primary elections were held on August 4, 1948.https://books.google.com/books?id=nqAaAQAAMAAJ Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc 2005 CQ Press 9781568029818 2020-04-10 Democratic primary Candidates Gordon Browning, former governor Jim Nance McCord, incumbent governor James N. Hardin Jay Hanson Results Democratic primary results Gordon Browning Democratic Party (United States) 240,676 55.76% Jim Nance McCord (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 183,948 42.62% James N. Hardin Democratic Party (United States) 5,905 1.37% Jay Hanson Democratic Party (United States) 1,067 0.25% 431,596 100.00% General election Candidates Gordon Browning, Democratic Roy Acuff, Republican Results 1948 Tennessee gubernatorial electionhttps://books.google.com/books?id=46A7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State - Rhodes Cook 26 October 2017 9781506368993 2020-04-10 Cook Rhodes Democratic Party (United States) Gordon Browning 363,903 66.91% Republican Party (United States) Roy Acuff 179,957 33.09% 183,946 543,881 Democratic Party (United States) See also 1948 United States presidential election in Tennessee 1948 United States Senate election in Tennessee References 1948 Tennessee Gubernatorial