2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election
Country:	Tennessee
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	2018
Next Election:	2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election
Next Year:	2026
Election Date:	November 8, 2022
Image1:	File:Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Gebre Waddell after the passage of the ELVIS Act (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Bill Lee
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	1,129,390
Percentage1:	64.91%
Nominee2:	Jason Martin
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	572,818
Percentage2:	32.92%
Governor
Before Election:	Bill Lee
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Bill Lee
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Turnout:	38.61% ^[1] 15.85 pp

The 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Lee was re-elected to a second term with 64.9% of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger Jason Martin. Lee improved on his performance from 2018.

The primary elections took place on August 4, 2022, with Lee and Martin winning their respective parties' nominations.^{[2] [3]}

During the general election, Lee flipped reliably Democratic Haywood County, home to Brownsville. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee, along with Shelby County, with a majority African-American population. Haywood County has not voted Republican on a presidential level since 1972. Martin won only Shelby and Davidson counties. This was the first time in state history that Davidson County did not vote for the winner in a gubernatorial re-election since Tennessee began allowing governors to serve for two consecutive terms.

Voter turnout for the 2022 midterm elections in Tennessee was the lowest it has been in nearly a decade, with only 38.6% of Tennessee's registered voters turning out. This turnout was far below the 2020 presidential election in Tennessee, which saw a turnout of 69.3%.^{[4] [5]} The last time turnout was this low in Tennessee was in the 2014 midterm elections. Tennessee's neighboring state Alabama saw a significant drop in voter turnout as well.

Bill Lee was sworn in for his second term on January 21, 2023.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bill Lee, incumbent governor^[6]

Disqualified

• Curtis Carney, business owner^{[7] [8]}
• Tyler Hagerman
• Patricia Morrison

Declined

• Andy Ogles, Mayor of Maury County (successfully ran for U.S. House)^[9]

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jason Martin, pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Sumner Regional Medical Center and former Meharry Medical College professor^{[10] [11]}

Eliminated in primary

• Carnita Atwater, leader of New Chicago Community Development Corporation in Northern Memphis^[12]
• J. B. Smiley Jr., Memphis city councilor^[13]

Withdrew

• Casey Nicholson, minister^{[14] [15]}

Declined

• Gloria Johnson, state representative^[16] (endorsed Jason Martin)^[17]

Results

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Constance Every, nonprofit founder^[18]
• John Gentry, accountant
• Basil Marceaux, businessman and perennial candidate
• Alfred O'Neil
• Deborah Rouse, candidate for President of the United States in 2020
• Michael Scantland, sales manager
• Rick Tyler, perennial candidate (also ran for U.S. House)
• Charles Van Morgan, small business owner

Disqualified

• Lemichael DaShaun-Wilson
• Hosie Holomon III
• Wendell Jackson
• Jake Johns

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[19]		March 4, 2022
align=left	Inside Elections^[20]		July 22, 2022
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[21]		June 29, 2022
Politico^[22]		April 1, 2022
align=left	RCP^[23]		January 10, 2022
align=left	Fox News^[24]		May 12, 2022
538^[25]		August 4, 2022
Elections Daily^[26]		November 7, 2022

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of July 5, 2022
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
	Bill Lee (R)		$3,516,828		$3,316,034		$375,465
	Jason Martin (D)		$187,424		$495,649		$160,736
Source: Tennessee Registry of Election Finance^[27]

Polling

Bill Lee vs. generic opponent

Results

By county

County^[28]	Bill Lee Republican		Jason Martin Democratic		Other votes		Total votes
	%		%		%
	Anderson	65.80%	14,003	32.11%	6,832	2.09%	445	21,280
	Bedford	79.30%	8,401	18.27%	1,936	2.43%	257	10,594
	Benton	79.14%	3,247	18.43%	756	2.43%	100	4,103
	Bledsoe	86.06%	2,933	12.27%	418	1.67%	57	3,408
	Blount	74.41%	29,470	23.52%	9,316	2.07%	820	39,606
	Bradley	81.97%	20,655	16.26%	4,096	1.77%	447	25,198
	Campbell	81.96%	6,118	15.85%	1,197	2.19%	165	7,550
	Cannon	80.74%	3,082	17.50%	668	1.76%	67	3,817
	Carroll	80.23%	5,733	17.74%	1,268	2.03%	145	7,146
	Carter	80.10%	11,602	17.78%	2,575	2.12%	307	14,484
	Cheatham	71.27%	8,309	26.92%	3,138	1.81%	211	11,658
	Chester	83.54%	3,756	13.83%	622	2.62%	118	4,496
	Claiborne	83.99%	5,652	14.18%	954	1.83%	123	6,729
	Clay	80.03%	1,451	16.93%	307	3.04%	55	1,813
	Cocke	81.17%	6,618	15.95%	1,300	2.88%	235	8,153
	Coffee	77.13%	10,529	20.59%	2,811	2.28%	311	13,651
	Crockett	82.30%	2,734	16.23%	539	1.48%	49	3,322
	Cumberland	82.38%	17,864	16.16%	3,505	1.46%	315	21,684
	Davidson	34.24%	60,900	63.38%	112,708	2.38%	4,229	177,837
	Decatur	80.65%	2,713	17.72%	596	1.63%	55	3,364
	DeKalb	80.07%	4,118	17.71%	911	2.22%	114	5,143
	Dickson	73.73%	9,970	24.07%	3,255	2.20%	297	13,522
	Dyer	80.61%	6,791	16.81%	1,416	2.58%	217	8,424
	Fayette	75.93%	10,868	22.44%	3,212	1.63%	234	14,314
	Fentress	86.69%	4,559	11.12%	585	2.19%	115	5,259
	Franklin	75.05%	8,643	22.93%	2,641	2.02%	232	11,516
	Gibson	76.61%	9,640	21.21%	2,669	2.18%	274	12,583
	Giles	76.23%	5,832	20.68%	1,582	3.09%	237	7,651
	Grainger	85.28%	4,588	13.12%	706	1.60%	86	5,380
	Greene	79.26%	13,574	17.83%	3,054	2.91%	498	16,951
	Grundy	80.82%	2,735	15.90%	538	3.28%	111	3,384
	Hamblen	78.86%	10,335	19.01%	2,492	2.13%	279	13,126
	Hamilton	60.02%	60,647	38.46%	38,862	1.52%	1,542	101,051
	Hancock	84.60%	1,110	12.58%	165	2.82%	37	1,312
	Hardeman	62.41%	3,486	35.50%	1,983	2.09%	117	5,586
	Hardin	85.93%	5,606	12.45%	812	1.62%	106	6,524
	Hawkins	82.42%	11,669	15.56%	2,203	2.02%	286	14,158
	Haywood	51.14%	2,011	47.30%	1,860	1.56%	61	3,932
	Henderson	85.61%	5,551	12.68%	822	1.71%	111	6,484
	Henry	78.52%	6,674	18.87%	1,604	2.61%	222	8,500
	Hickman	78.76%	4,577	19.41%	1,128	1.83%	106	5,811
	Houston	74.25%	1,837	23.00%	569	2.75%	68	2,474
	Humphreys	74.63%	3,344	22.85%	1,024	2.52%	113	4,481
	Jackson	75.80%	2,415	19.99%	637	4.21%	134	3,186
	Jefferson	81.52%	10,806	15.90%	2,107	2.58%	342	13,255
	Johnson	85.05%	4,415	13.25%	688	1.70%	88	5,191
	Knox	59.95%	76,880	38.32%	49,140	1.73%	2,222	128,242
	Lake	78.69%	912	17.69%	205	3.62%	42	1,159
	Lauderdale	69.81%	3,346	27.56%	1,321	2.63%	126	4,793
	Lawrence	81.96%	8,276	15.34%	1,549	2.70%	272	10,097
	Lewis	80.09%	2,723	18.03%	613	1.88%	64	3,400
	Lincoln	81.89%	7,452	15.45%	1,406	2.66%	242	9,100
	Loudon	78.15%	15,285	19.43%	3,801	2.42%	473	19,559
	Macon	85.13%	4,140	12.03%	585	2.84%	138	4,863
	Madison	63.77%	15,357	34.24%	8,246	1.99%	479	24,082
	Marion	77.23%	5,947	20.91%	1,610	1.86%	143	7,700
	Marshall	75.99%	6,734	21.00%	1,861	3.01%	267	8,862
	Maury	72.26%	22,198	25.75%	7,910	1.99%	610	30,718
	McMinn	80.35%	10,371	14.39%	1,858	5.26%	679	12,908
	McNairy	83.06%	5,864	14.67%	1,036	2.27%	160	7,060
	Meigs	82.21%	2,703	14.93%	491	2.86%	94	3,288
	Monroe	82.93%	9,830	14.75%	1,748	2.23%	275	11,853
	Montgomery	60.22%	24,813	36.38%	14,988	3.40%	1,400	41,201
	Moore	83.33%	1,725	14.59%	302	2.08%	43	2,070
	Morgan	83.97%	3,844	13.63%	624	2.40%	110	4,578
	Obion	82.63%	6,418	15.10%	1,173	2.27%	176	7,767
	Overton	78.45%	4,805	18.73%	1,147	2.82%	173	6,125
	Perry	80.22%	1,549	17.56%	339	2.22%	43	1,931
	Pickett	80.06%	1,542	16.15%	311	3.79%	73	1,929
	Polk	83.32%	4,000	14.83%	712	1.85%	89	4,801
	Putnam	72.43%	14,217	24.84%	4,875	2.73%	536	19,628
	Rhea	85.11%	6,551	13.42%	1,033	1.47%	113	7,697
	Roane	75.23%	11,871	21.15%	3,337	3.62%	572	15,780
	Robertson	75.97%	14,066	21.86%	4,048	2.17%	400	18,514
	Rutherford	62.00%	46,575	35.87%	26,948	2.13%	1,604	75,127
	Scott	87.56%	3,394	10.19%	395	2.25%	87	3,876
	Sequatchie	83.92%	3,643	13.87%	602	2.21%	96	4,341
	Sevier	80.35%	18,314	16.75%	3,818	2.90%	660	22,792
	Shelby	43.20%	86,384	54.51%	108,995	2.29%	4,583	199,962
	Smith	79.52%	4,205	17.53%	927	2.95%	156	5,288
	Stewart	79.55%	3,167	17.76%	707	2.69%	107	3,981
	Sullivan	77.90%	32,897	20.78%	8,777	1.32%	556	42,230
	Sumner	71.57%	37,466	26.12%	13,672	2.31%	1,209	52,347
	Tipton	76.69%	11,487	20.58%	3,083	2.73%	409	14,979
	Trousdale	77.39%	1,660	20.93%	449	1.68%	36	2,145
	Unicoi	80.66%	4,238	17.32%	910	2.02%	106	5,254
	Union	82.90%	3,456	14.99%	625	2.11%	88	4,169
	Van Buren	82.35%	1,563	14.70%	279	2.95%	56	1,898
	Warren	75.29%	6,668	22.16%	1,963	2.55%	226	8,857
	Washington	69.42%	24,330	28.66%	10,046	1.92%	671	35,047
	Wayne	86.59%	3,094	11.14%	398	2.27%	81	3,573
	Weakley	78.94%	6,417	18.32%	1,489	2.74%	223	8,129
	White	82.41%	5,744	15.42%	1,075	2.17%	151	6,970
	Williamson	68.06%	58,132	30.57%	26,116	1.37%	1,169	85,417
	Wilson	70.69%	31,496	27.40%	12,208	1.91%	848	44,552

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)

See also

• Elections in Tennessee
• Political party strength in Tennessee
• Tennessee Democratic Party
• Tennessee Republican Party
• Government of Tennessee
• 2022 Tennessee elections
• 2022 United States elections

External links

Official campaign websites

• Bill Lee (R) for Governor
• Bill Marceaux (I) for Governor
• Jason Martin (D) for Governor

Notes and References

1. News: November 8, 2022 . Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2022 . Tennessee Secretary of State . February 28, 2023 .
2. Web site: 2022 Midterm Election Events Calendar . 2022-08-04 . www.cnn.com.
3. Web site: 2022-08-05 . Doctor critical of lax COVID rules wins Tenn. Dem gov race . 2022-08-05 . AP NEWS . en.
4. Web site: McCullough . Erin . 2022-11-11 . Less than 40% of registered voters in Tennessee turned out for the 2022 midterms . 2022-11-11 . WKRN News 2 . en.
5. Web site: Gonzales . Tony . 2022-11-10 . Tennessee voter turnout far below 2018 showing . 2022-12-30 . 90.3 WPLM News . en.
6. Web site: Ebert . Joel . 'I love this job': Bill Lee says he'll seek a second term as Tennessee governor . The Tennessean . The USA Today Network . 7 September 2020.
7. Web site: 2021-04-29. New PAC Targets Gov. Lee's Re-Election Bid. 2021-04-30. Across Tennessee, TN Patch. en.
8. Web site: Tennessee Petitions . TNSOS . 8 April 2022.
9. News: Rau . Nate . March 23, 2022 . Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles enters District 5 race . . live . March 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220328121856/https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/03/23/maury-county-mayor-andy-ogles-enters-district-5-race . March 28, 2022.
10. Web site: Doctor eyes run for governor. 16 August 2021. Nashville Post.
11. Web site: Sumner County doctor Jason Martin announces gubernatorial campaign News wsmv.com. 2021-08-23. www.wsmv.com.
12. Web site: First Democratic Candidate for Governor . Tri-State Defender . April 8, 2021 . 29 July 2021.
13. Web site: Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. Enters Democratic Race for Tennessee Governor . The Commercial Appeal . 15 September 2021.
14. Web site: Democrats running for governor make it official. 26 August 2021. Nashville Post.
15. Web site: "I'm suspending my campaign for governor.". Facebook. 23 December 2021.
16. Web site: New PAC targets Lee's re-election bid. 2021-04-30. Tennessee Lookout. en-US.
17. Web site: I'm so excited y'all, @jasonbmartin is exactly the leadership TN families need now! . Twitter . 24 August 2021.
18. News: Petition Information . Tennessee Secretary of State . April 7, 2022.
19. Web site: 2022 Governor Race Ratings . The Cook Political Report . February 4, 2021.
20. Web site: February 19, 2021 . Gubernatorial Ratings . Inside Elections.
21. Web site: 2022 Gubernatorial race ratings . Sabato's Crystal Ball . March 11, 2021.
22. Web site: Tennessee Governor Race 2022. April 1, 2022 . Politico.
23. Web site: January 10, 2022 . 2022 Governor Races. January 10, 2022 . RCP.
24. Web site: 2022 Election Forecast . Fox News . May 12, 2022 . May 12, 2022.
25. Web site: 2022 Election Forecast . FiveThirtyEight . June 30, 2022 . June 30, 2022.
26. Web site: Elections Daily Unveils Final 2022 Midterm Ratings . Szymanski . Joe . Elections Daily . November 7, 2022 . November 28, 2022.
27. Web site: Search Reports . Tennessee Registry of Election Finance.
28. Web site: 2022-11-08 . 2022 Gubernatorial Results by County . 2023-02-18 . Tennessee Secretary of State . en.