By perhaps the biggest margin of victory in modern Tennessee history in an election for an open gubernatorial seat, Knoxville’s Republican Mayor Bill Haslam defeated Democrat nominee Mike McWherter almost 2-to-1 — more than a million votes to more than 520,000 — to win the governorship of Tennessee on Tuesday.
Gov.-elect Haslam conducted a positive campaign, promising conservative financial responsibility and a strong drive to gain more good jobs for Tennesseans and a growing economy.
The new governor will have a challenging job in a time of national economic crisis.
Tennessee’s voters also gave Haslam bigger Republican margins in the General Assembly to help him when he takes office in January.