1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election

1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 1962 November 8, 1966 1970 →
 
Nominee Buford Ellington H.L. Crowder Charlie Moffett
Party Democratic Independent Independent
Popular vote 532,998 64,602 50,221
Percentage 81.18% 9.84% 7.65%

County results
Ellington:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election

Frank G. Clement
Democratic

Elected Governor

Buford Ellington
Democratic

The 1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Frank G. Clement was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking another term. Former Democratic governor Buford Ellington defeated both independent candidates H.L. Crowder and Charlie Moffett with 81.2% of the vote.

In the primary, Ellington he defeated John Jay Hooker, who was a friend of former governor Gordon Browning, and had been endorsed by the Nashville Tennessean.[1] Ellington was endorsed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Nashville Banner.

Tensions grew between Governor Frank G. Clement and Ellington leading up to the general election, as Ellington refused to endorse Clement in his U.S. Senate primary campaign against Ross Bass.[1] Clement attempted to spend the state's budget surplus to ensure the Ellington administration did not inherit it.[2]

  1. ^ a b Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 366-372.
  2. ^ Vaughn May, "Buford Ellington," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: 29 December 2012.