2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election

2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →
Turnout49.97% Decrease[1] 0.43 pp
 
Nominee Phil Bredesen Jim Bryson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,247,491 540,853
Percentage 68.60% 29.74%

Bredesen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Bryson:      50–60%      60–70%
Tie:      50%

Governor before election

Phil Bredesen
Democratic

Elected Governor

Phil Bredesen
Democratic

The 2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic governor Phil Bredesen was re-elected to a second term with 68.6% of the vote, defeating his Republican challenger Jim Bryson. Improving on his performance from 2002, Bredesen also carried every county in the state.

As of 2024, this was the last time a Democrat won a majority of counties in the state, the last time a Democrat won any statewide race in Tennessee, and the most recent statewide election in Tennessee in which 88 of the state's 95 counties, including Knox County and Hamilton County, went to the Democratic candidate. Only Davidson, Shelby, Haywood, Hardeman, Houston, Jackson, and Lake counties have voted for a Democratic candidate in a presidential, Senate, or gubernatorial race since 2006. Eight years after this, Republican governor Bill Haslam would win every county in the state when he won re-election. This marked a sharp political shift in Tennessee.

  1. ^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2006". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 7, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2023.