2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2006 United States gubernatorial elections.

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.

2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →
Turnout	49.97% [1] 0.43 pp
Nominee Phil Bredesen Jim Bryson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,247,491 540,853 Percentage 68.60% 29.74%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Bredesen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Bryson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Tie:      50%
Governor before election Phil Bredesen Democratic Elected Governor Phil Bredesen Democratic

As of 2025, 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.

Background

Phil Bredesen became governor amid a fiscal crisis, with a predicted state budget shortfall of $800 million. Much of the shortfall was due to TennCare, which was $650 million over budget.^[2] Sundquist had hoped to remedy the budget shortfall by implementing an income tax, but this proved wildly unpopular and was never enacted.^[3] Bredesen argued that services would have to be cut, saying, "you can't have Massachusetts services and Tennessee taxes."^[3] In 2003, he signed a 9% across-the-board spending cut.^[2] In 2004, he enacted a series of changes to TennCare, essentially removing 191,000 Medicaid-eligible patients and reducing benefits.^[2] By 2006, these changes had reduced the program's cost by more than $500 million.^[2] Bredesen used some of the savings to establish a "safety net" for health clinics affected by the cuts. In 2006, he implemented "Cover Tennessee" to cover people with preexisting conditions and the uninsured.^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Phil Bredesen, incumbent governor of Tennessee
• John Jay Hooker, perennial candidate
• Tim Sevier
• Walt Ward

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Bredesen (incumbent)	393,004	88.50
	Democratic	John Jay Hooker	31,933	7.19
	Democratic	Tim Sevier	11,562	2.60
	Democratic	Walt Ward	7,555	1.70
Total votes			444,054	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Bryson, state senator
• David M. Farmer
• Joe Kirkpatrick
• Mark Albertini
• Wayne Thomas Bailey
• Wayne Young
• Timothy Thomas

Results

County results

  Bryson

•   <40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Farmer

•   <40%

Republican Primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Bryson	160,786	50.03
	Republican	David M. Farmer	50,900	15.84
	Republican	Joe Kirkpatrick	34,491	10.73
	Republican	Mark Albertini	29,184	9.08
	Republican	Wayne Thomas Bailey	24,273	7.55
	Republican	Wayne Young	11,997	3.73
	Republican	Timothy Thomas	9,747	3.03
Total votes			321,378	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Phil Bredesen (D)
• Jim Bryson (R)
• Carl Two Feathers Whitaker (I)
• George Banks (I)
• Charles E. Smith (I)
• Howard W. Switzer (I)
• David Gatchell (I)
• Marivuana Stout Leinoff (I)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[6]	Solid D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[7]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[8]	Safe D	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics[9]	Likely D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Phil Bredesen (D)	Jim Bryson (R)
Survey USA[10]	October 25, 2006	66%	28%
Survey USA[11]	October 10, 2006	63%	32%
Accuratings[12]	October 24, 2006	67%	33%
The Commercial Appeal[13]	October 3, 2006	63%	22%
Rasmussen[14]	October 3, 2006	63%	28%
Rasmussen[15]	September 7, 2006	58%	31%
Zogby[16]	June 13, 2006	58%	22%

Results

County flips

Legend

• Democratic

    Hold

    Gain from Republican

2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phil Bredesen (incumbent)	1,247,491	68.60%	+17.95%
	Republican	Jim Bryson	540,853	29.74%	−17.85%
	Independent	Carl Two Feathers Whitaker	11,374	0.63%	N/A
	Independent	George Banks	7,531	0.41%	N/A
	Independent	Charles E. Smith	4,083	0.22%	N/A
	Independent	Howard W. Switzer	2,711	0.15%	N/A
	Independent	David Gatchell	2,385	0.13%	N/A
	Independent	Marivuana Stout Leinoff	2,114	0.12%	N/A
	Write-in		7	0.00%	N/A
Majority			706,638	38.86%	+35.80%
Turnout			1,818,549
	Democratic hold		Swing

By county

By county

County[18] Phil Bredesen Democratic Jim Bryson Republican Other votes % # % # % Anderson 72.4% 16,881 25.9% 6,049 1.7% Bedford 68.2% 7,240 30.3% 3,215 1.5% Benton 74.8% 4,128 23.1% 1,273 2.1% Bledsoe 57.8% 2,274 39.6% 1,560 2.6% Blount 65.4% 23,433 32.9% 11,791 1.7% Bradley 55.2% 14,492 43.4% 11,401 1.4% Campbell 67.5% 6,793 30.5% 3,073 1.9% Cannon 70.4% 2,978 27.6% 1,167 2.0% Carroll 70.3% 6,379 27.5% 2,493 2.3% Carter 56.6% 9,211 41.1% 6,686 2.3% Cheatham 65.3% 7,506 33.3% 3,824 1.5% Chester 62.6% 2,730 35.5% 1,547 2.0% Claiborne 62.1% 4,732 35.3% 2,693 2.6% Clay 69.2% 1,717 27.6% 685 3.2% Cocke 59.2% 5,741 38.7% 3,752 2.2% Coffee 68.4% 10,498 29.5% 4,534 2.1% Crockett 74.0% 3,299 24.4% 1,090 1.6% Cumberland 61.3% 11,741 37.4% 7,172 1.3% Davidson 76.0% 132,712 22.3% 38,977 1.7% Decatur 70.7% 2,791 27.1% 1,068 2.2% DeKalb 69.8% 3,848 28.3% 1,559 1.9% Dickson 69.4% 10,016 28.9% 4,164 1.7% Dyer 69.5% 7,642 28.5% 3,130 2.1% Fayette 61.8% 7,701 36.9% 4,599 1.3% Fentress 55.4% 2,859 42.8% 2,207 1.8% Franklin 71.8% 9,179 26.8% 3,430 1.3% Gibson 73.6% 11,473 24.9% 3,890 1.5% Giles 72.0% 6,135 26.3% 2,243 1.7% Grainger 59.7% 3,289 38.1% 2,100 2.1% Greene 57.9% 10,669 40.1% 7,376 2.0% Grundy 70.1% 2,692 26.7% 1,024 3.3% Hamblen 62.3% 10,377 36.4% 6,057 1.3% Hamilton 70.3% 75,261 28.5% 30,482 1.3% Hancock 50.8% 960 46.6% 880 2.6% Hardeman 75.6% 5,895 22.3% 1,740 2.1% Hardin 63.6% 4,666 34.3% 2,516 2.1% Hawkins 60.3% 8,903 37.6% 5,552 2.0% Haywood 80.0% 4,722 18.5% 1,093 1.5% Henderson 61.7% 5,293 35.8% 3,072 2.4% Henry 73.9% 7,289 24.4% 2,402 1.7% Hickman 70.5% 4,714 27.6% 1,844 1.9% Houston 77.7% 2,111 20.9% 567 1.4% Humphreys 76.9% 4,824 21.6% 1,354 1.5% Jackson 74.0% 2,895 23.6% 924 2.4% Jefferson 62.5% 8,307 36.0% 4,782 1.5% Johnson 51.6% 2,491 45.9% 2,214 2.5% Knox 71.5% 87,537 27.2% 33,266 1.4% Lake 81.1% 1,252 16.6% 257 2.3% Lauderdale 75.0% 5,146 22.8% 1,567 2.1% Lawrence 63.0% 7,843 35.3% 4,399 1.7% Lewis 63.5% 2,506 32.9% 1,297 3.7% Lincoln 60.3% 4,890 37.7% 3,059 2.0% Loudon 66.3% 10,797 32.3% 5,257 1.5% McMinn 60.3% 8,299 37.7% 5,195 2.0% McNairy 62.7% 4,855 35.0% 2,708 2.3% Macon 63.7% 3,507 34.8% 1,917 1.5% Madison 72.9% 21,889 25.9% 7,771 1.2% Marion 70.0% 6,162 27.3% 2,407 2.6% Marshall 72.4% 6,050 26.1% 2,178 1.6% Maury 69.8% 16,274 29.1% 6,778 1.2% Meigs 62.6% 2,046 35.4% 1,156 2.0% Monroe 59.8% 7,484 38.9% 4,876 1.3% Montgomery 71.0% 25,465 25.6% 9,185 3.3% Moore 65.1% 1,388 32.8% 700 2.0% Morgan 68.4% 3,454 29.8% 1,507 1.7% Obion 76.9% 7,539 20.9% 2,049 2.2% Overton 73.4% 4,820 25.0% 1,645 1.6% Perry 71.6% 1,673 25.7% 600 2.7% Pickett 56.6% 1,205 41.8% 890 1.6% Polk 62.9% 3,218 34.6% 1,772 2.5% Putnam 68.9% 13,830 29.3% 5,879 1.8% Rhea 59.1% 5,004 38.9% 3,297 1.9% Roane 70.7% 12,389 27.5% 4,807 1.8% Robertson 67.1% 12,664 31.8% 5,995 1.1% Rutherford 65.2% 40,034 33.5% 20,535 1.3% Scott 61.1% 3,230 36.5% 1,931 2.3% Sequatchie 65.9% 2,761 32.2% 1,351 2.0% Sevier 57.4% 13,355 38.8% 9,023 3.8% Shelby 67.4% 210,470 20.7% 64,593 11.9% Smith 69.4% 4,719 22.6% 1,531 2.9% Stewart 77.8% 3,314 22.3% 952 3.4% Sullivan 60.9% 27,024 39.5% 17,479 2.6% Sumner 62.8% 29,713 33.7% 15,938 2.8% Tipton 63.2% 10,433 35.5% 5,843 1.3% Trousdale 78.3% 2,000 21.8% 557 0.0% Unicoi 61.6% 3,298 39.1% 2,095 1.3% Union 62.6% 2,743 37.7% 1,653 0.0% Van Buren 71.7% 1,347 28.3% 533 0.0% Warren 74.6% 8,324 25.5% 2,848 1.9% Washington 62.3% 21,092 36.9% 12,360 1.0% Wayne 55.4% 2,232 45.5% 1,831 1.0% Weakley 73.5% 7,233 26.6% 2,621 3.3% White 70.6% 5,231 28.9% 2,140 2.6% Williamson 58.2% 35,058 42.2% 25,384 1.4% Wilson 64.5% 23,207 33.3% 11,990 2.2% Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Bledsoe (Largest city: Pikeville) Claiborne (Largest city: Harrogate) Hardin (Largest city: Savannah) Lincoln (Largest city: Fayetteville) Macon (Largest city: Lafayette) Pickett (Largest city: Byrdstown) Rutherford (Largest city: Murfreesboro) Sumner (Largest city: Hendersonville) Wilson (Largest city: Mt. Juliet) Tipton (Largest city: Atoka) Madison (Largest city: Jackson) Chester (Largest city: Henderson) Henderson (Largest city: Lexington) Wayne (Largest city: Waynesboro) Williamson (Largest city: Franklin) Scott (Largest city: Oneida) Cumberland (Largest city: Crossville) Meigs (Largest city: Decatur) Hamilton (Largest city: Chattanooga) Bradley (Largest city: Cleveland) McMinn (Largest city: Athens) Blount (Largest city: Maryville) Loudon (Largest city: Lenoir City) Monroe (Largest city: Sweetwater) Sevier (Largest city: Sevierville) Jefferson (Largest city: Jefferson City) Grainer (Largest city: Bean Station) Hamlben (Largest city: Morristown) Greene (Largest city: Greenville) Hancock (Largest city: Sneedville) Hawkins (Largest city: Kingsport) Sullivan (Largest city: Kingsport) Johnson (Largest city: Mountain City) Washington (Largest city: Johnson City) Carter (Largest city: Elizabethton) Unicoi (Largest city: Erwin) Rhea (Largest city: Dayton) Fayette (Largest town: Oakland) Fentress (Largest city: Jamestown) Lawrence (Largest city: Lawrenceburg) McNairy (Largest city: Selmer) Moore (Largest city: Lynchburg) Union (Largest city: Maynardville) Weakley (Largest city: Martin)

See also

• 2006 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee
• 2006 Tennessee elections