Sen. Lamar Alexander won renomination last night in Tennessee, and while his margin wasn’t razor-thin, his victory percentage was unimpressive. Scoring just 50 percent in his own Republican primary, Alexander out-polled state Rep. Joe Carr’s 41 percent. The remaining five candidates split the outstanding vote.
But the closeness of the contest occurred on the Democratic side, in what will likely be a battle for the right to lose to Alexander in November. Attorney Gordon Ball has been projected the winner, leading attorney Terry Adams by just 1,911 votes statewide.
One thing is clear, however. The statewide turnout overwhelmingly favored Republicans. Approximately 645,000 individuals voted in the Republican primary as compared with just under 240,000 who participated on the Democratic side.
On the other end of the margin perspective, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) cruised to an 88 percent victory. He will face Democrat Continue reading >
With 30 states now having completed the process of officially certifying their candidates for the 2014 general election, a large number of Tennessee political activists have stepped forward to run for federal and major statewide office.
No fewer than 17 individuals have entered the governor’s race to face first term Tennessee chief executive Bill Haslam (R). Comprising the group are three minor Republican primary challengers to the governor, seven Democrats, and an additional seven minor party and Independent candidates. None of the individuals, however, appear politically Continue reading >
Jim Ellis Insights 