1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election

none related races 1986 United States gubernatorial elections January 2019 January 2019 1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election Tennessee Presidential no 1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election 1982 1990 Tennessee gubernatorial election 1990 November 4, 1986 File:Ned R. McWherter speaking at a ceremony, Dec 17, 1988 (cropped).JPEG 150x150px Ned McWherter Democratic Party (United States) 656,602 54.26% File:Governor Winfield Dunn.jpeg Winfield Dunn Republican Party (United States) 553,449 45.74% 1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsMcWherter: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Dunn: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% Governor Lamar Alexander Republican Party (United States) Ned McWherter Democratic Party (United States) The 1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican governor Lamar Alexander was term-limited, leaving the governorship an open seat. Democratic nominee Ned McWherter defeated former Republican governor Winfield Dunn with 54.3% of the vote.1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Tennessee https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=47&year=1986&f=0&off=5&elect=0 2026-03-08 uselectionatlas.org With this win, McWherter flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats. Background Republican governor Winfield Dunn's term ended in 1975; at the time, the Constitution of Tennessee barred governors from serving consecutive terms. He returned to the private sector, working for several years as the vice president of public relations for the Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 370–381, 396–397. In 1986, Dunn once again ran for governor. He easily defeated Hubert Patty and Charles Vick in the Republican primary, but questions over party unity dogged his campaign.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 370–381, 396–397. During his first term, Dunn had vetoed a bill calling for the establishment of a medical school at East Tennessee State University, reasoning that the state's three existing medical schools were adequate. Though the legislature overrode his veto, he nevertheless drew the enmity of powerful 1st district congressman Jimmy Quillen, in whose district the school was to be located. Quillen was still smarting over the veto more than a decade later, and withheld his endorsement in 1986. Without Quillen's endorsement, Dunn struggled in East Tennessee (normally a Republican stronghold), and was defeated in the general election by the Democratic nominee, Ned McWherter.Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 370–381, 396–397. Primary elections Primary elections were held on August 7, 1986.https://books.google.com/books?id=jXLPGbOj8SEC Tennessee Blue Book: 1987–1988 – Gentry Crowell 2018-10-05 Crowell Gentry Democratic primary Candidates Ned McWherter, Speaker of the Tennessee House of RepresentativesAp 1986-08-08 TENNESSEE SPEAKER TAKES NOMINAION IN GOVERNOR'S RACE https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/08/us/tennessee-speaker-takes-nominaion-in-governor-s-race.html 2026-02-08 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 Jane Eskind, Public Service Commissioner Richard Fulton, Mayor of Nashville Joseph L. Crichton Bill Jacox Results Democratic primary results Ned McWherter Democratic Party (United States) 314,449 42.47 Jane Eskind Democratic Party (United States) 225,551 30.46 Richard Fulton Democratic Party (United States) 190,016 25.66 Joseph L. Crichton Democratic Party (United States) 6,582 0.89 Bill Jacox Democratic Party (United States) 3,817 0.52 740,415 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Winfield Dunn, former governor Hubert David Patty, perennial candidate Charles Gordon Vick, perennial candidate Results Republican primary results Winfield Dunn Republican Party (United States) 222,458 94.23 Hubert David Patty Republican Party (United States) 7,660 3.25 Charles Gordon Vick Republican Party (United States) 5,954 2.52 236,072 100.00 General election Candidates Ned McWherter, Democratic Winfield Dunn, Republican Results 1986 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 2018-10-05 Cook Rhodes Democratic Party (United States) Ned McWherter 656,602 54.26% +13.82% Republican Party (United States) Winfield Dunn 553,449 45.74% -13.82% 103,153 1,210,339 Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) See also 1986 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee References 1986 Tennessee Gubernatorial