1978_Tennessee_gubernatorial_election Knowpia

1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election
	County results ; Alexander: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Butcher: 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Ray Blanton; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Lamar Alexander; Republican

The 1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Although the Tennessee State Constitution had been amended in early 1978 to allow a governor to succeed himself, Incumbent Democratic governor Ray Blanton chose not to seek re-election. Republican Lamar Alexander once again ran for governor. In the general election, Alexander defeated Democratic nominee Jake Butcher with 55.8% of the vote.

Primary elections edit

Primary elections were held on August 3, 1978.^[1]

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jake Butcher	320,329	40.91
	Democratic	Bob Clement	288,577	36.86
	Democratic	Richard Fulton	122,101	15.60
	Democratic	Roger Murray	40,871	5.22
	Democratic	Shelley Stiles	6,325	0.81
	Democratic	Bill Jacox	2,010	0.26
	Democratic	William K. Jackson	1,365	0.17
	Democratic	Ben Miller	1,317	0.17
Total votes			782,895	100.00

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander	230,922	85.97
	Republican	Harold Sterling	34,037	12.67
	Republican	John H. Harper	2,527	0.94
	Republican	Hubert David Patty	1,132	0.42
Total votes			268,618	100.00

1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander	661,959	55.84%	+12.07%
	Democratic	Jake Butcher	523,495	44.16%	-11.28%
Majority			138,464
Turnout			1,189,695
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

^ ^a ^b ^c Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
^ Cook, Rhodes (October 26, 2017). America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State - Rhodes Cook. ISBN 9781506368993. Retrieved January 3, 2019.