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.

2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 2010 November 4, 2014 2018 →
Turnout35.97% Decrease[1] 5.35 pp
 
Nominee Bill Haslam Charles Brown
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 951,796 309,237
Percentage 70.31% 22.84%

Haslam:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Brown:      50–60%

Governor before election

Bill Haslam
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Haslam
Republican

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.[2] 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.[2][3][4][5]

Haslam on the other hand campaigned on jobs, and economic development, education reform, workforce development, and conservative fiscal leadership.[6][7]

As of 2024, 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.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Declared

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Declined

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Results

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Results by county
  Haslam
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
Republican primary results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Haslam (incumbent) 570,997 87.68%
Republican Mark "Coonrippy" Brown 44,165 6.78%
Republican Donald Ray McFolin 22,968 3.53%
Republican Basil Marceaux, Sr. 13,117 2.01%
Total votes 651,247 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Declared

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Removed from ballot

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Declined

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Results

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Results by county:
  Brown
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  McKamey
  •   30–40%
      40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Democratic primary results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charles V. "Charlie" Brown 95,114 41.71%
Democratic Wm. H. "John" McKamey 59,200 25.96%
Democratic Kennedy Spellman Johnson 55,718 24.44%
Democratic Ron Noonan 17,993 7.89%
Total votes 228,025 100.00%

Independents and Third Parties

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Candidates

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Declared

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Removed from ballot

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General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[22] Solid R November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] Safe R November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[24] Safe R November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[25] Safe R November 3, 2014

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Bill
Haslam (R)
Charles
Brown (D)
Other Undecided
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[26] October 16–23, 2014 974 ± 5% 58% 30% 2% 11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[27] September 20–October 1, 2014 1,007 ± 4% 60% 28% 1% 11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[28] August 18–September 2, 2014 1,056 ± 4% 56% 29% 4% 11%
Rasmussen Reports[29] August 11–12, 2014 750 ± 3% 55% 30% 6% 9%
Hypothetical polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Bill
Haslam (R)
John
McKamey (D)
Other Undecided
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[30] July 5–24, 2014 1,460 ± 5.4% 55% 32% 4% 9%
Rasmussen Reports[29] April 29–30, 2014 750 ± 4% 57% 27% 5% 11%

Results

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2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Haslam (incumbent) 951,796 70.31% +5.28%
Democratic Charles Brown 309,237 22.84% −10.24%
Independent John Jay Hooker 30,579 2.26% N/A
Constitution Shaun Crowell 26,580 1.96% N/A
Green Isa Infante 18,570 1.37% N/A
Independent Steve Coburn 8,612 0.64% N/A
Independent Daniel Lewis 8,321 0.62% N/A
n/a Write-ins 33 0.00% 0.00%
Total votes 1,353,728 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2014". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Murphy, Tim. "Tennessee gubernatorial nominee explains why he wants to electrocute governor". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  3. ^ chattanooga times free press (August 12, 2014). Charlie Brown running for Tennessee governor. Good grief!. Retrieved June 10, 2024 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "Dem Gubernatorial Nominee Wants To Send Governor To Electric Chair". HuffPost. August 8, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Hannan, Caleb (August 8, 2014). "The Alvin Greene of 2014". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "Priorities". June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Bill Haslam's Accomplishments". October 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  8. ^ "Petitions Filed for Governor, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  9. ^ "Gov. Bill Haslam announces re-election campaign". wbir.com. December 17, 2012. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  10. ^ "Petitions Filed for Governor, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  11. ^ "Mark 'Coonrippy' Brown Runs For Governor To Get His Seized Raccoon Rebekah Back". The Huffington Post. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Dries, Bill (April 2, 2014). "Candidates Commit as Deadline Nears". The Daily News. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "August 7, 2014 Official Election Results". Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Petitions Filed for Governor, United States Senate, and United States House of Representatives" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  15. ^ Cass, Michael (April 3, 2014). "Start your engines: Candidates qualify for state races". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Cass, Michael (April 10, 2014). "Won't get fooled again: Democrats deny Mark Clayton". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  17. ^ "Democratic Senator Lowe Finney Won't Seek Re-Election". News Channel 5. July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  18. ^ Zelinski, Andrea (July 22, 2013). "Rep. Fitzhugh passes on run for governor". Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  19. ^ a b Garrison, Joey (August 12, 2013). "A year out, TN Democrats' search for governor, Senate candidates turning cold". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  20. ^ Sher, Andy (January 2, 2014). "Democrat Sara Kyle won't challenge Gov. Bill Haslam in 2014". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  21. ^ "Mike McWherter: Haslam has created a 'culture of corruption' | Humphrey on the Hill". Knoxblogs.com. September 6, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  22. ^ "2014 Governor Race Ratings for November 3, 2014". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  23. ^ "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  24. ^ "2014 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  25. ^ "2014 Elections Map - 2014 Governors Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  26. ^ CBS News/NYT/YouGov
  27. ^ CBS News/NYT/YouGov
  28. ^ CBS News/NYT/YouGov
  29. ^ a b Rasmussen Reports
  30. ^ CBS News/NYT/YouGov
  31. ^ "State of Tennessee - November 4, 2014 - State General" (PDF). tn.gov. Secretary of State of Tennessee. December 15, 2014.
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Official campaign websites (Archived)