Candidates such as U.S. Rep.-elect Chuck Fleischmann and Gov.-elect Bill Haslam won their newly acquired seats in an election that drew the fewest voters in eight years, records show.
But voter turnout was not as poor as some officials feared.
“I was afraid no one would get out,” said Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, administrator of the Hamilton County Election Commission.
On Nov. 2, 87,810 voters cast ballots in Hamilton County and 1.6 million cast ballots statewide. That is comparable to 2002 when 89,030 voters cast ballots in Hamilton County and 1.7 million voters went to the polls statewide.
The 2008 and 2004 elections were larger because of presidential elections, and the 2006 election was larger because of a hotly contested race between Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and his Democratic challenger, Harold Ford Jr.
State party leaders agreed that Democrats did not get to the polls as they have in previous elections.
“You probably had lower turnout in the African-American and the rural voters,” said Chip Forrester, chairman of the state Democratic Party. “That was a struggle for us.”
Democrats ran into difficulty with getting that part of their base out because many Southern Democrats did not wholeheartedly support health care reform.
“It translated into more of an uphill battle,” he said.
Persistent high unemployment also played a role for voters, he said.
Chris Devaney, chairman of the state’s Republican Party, said the reverse was true for Republicans in this election.
“I’d suspect this last election was a very large Republican turnout,” he said.
He said Democrats were “disenchanted with their ticket.”
PDF: Election Turnout
To keep enthusiasm high heading toward the 2012 elections, Republicans will have to get to work at the state and federal levels.
“Now we have to lead,” he said.
The local election numbers were slightly lower than 2002 numbers, records show. The last election that showed a low voter turnout was in 1998 when 55,000 ballots were cast, records show.
Jeff Brown, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said he thinks voters will return in 2012, a presidential election year.
“If we had a presidential turnout [this election], it would have been a bit different,” he said.
Delores Vinson, chairwoman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said she thinks if the Republicans keep the promises made, they can keep the seats won this election.
“If we drop the ball, it will be a different story,” she said.