1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election

← 1962

November 8, 1966

1970 →


Nominee	Buford Ellington	H.L. Crowder	Charlie Moffett
Party	Democratic	Independent	Independent
Popular vote	532,998	64,602	50,221
Percentage	81.2%	9.8%	7.7%

County results
Ellington: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%

Governor before election

Frank G. Clement
Democratic

Elected Governor

Buford Ellington
Democratic

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The 1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Governor Frank G. Clement was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking another term. Former Democratic Governor Buford Ellington defeated both Independent candidates H.L. Crowder and Charlie Moffett with 81.2% of the vote.

In the primary, Ellington he defeated John Jay Hooker, who was a friend of former Governor Gordon Browning, and had been endorsed by the Nashville Tennessean.^[1] Ellington was endorsed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Nashville Banner.

Tensions grew between Governor Frank G. Clement and Ellington leading up to the general election, as Ellington refused to endorse Clement in his U.S. Senate primary campaign against Ross Bass.^[1] Clement attempted to spend the state's budget surplus to ensure the Ellington administration did not inherit it.^[2]

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 4, 1966.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Buford Ellington, former Governor
John Jay Hooker, attorney

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buford Ellington	413,950	53.48
	Democratic	John Jay Hooker	360,105	46.52
Total votes			774,055	100.00

General election

Candidates

Major party candidate

Buford Ellington, Democratic

Other candidates

H.L. Crowder, Independent
Charlie Moffett, Independent
Charles Gordon Vick, Independent

Results

1966 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buford Ellington	532,998	81.22%
	Independent	H.L. Crowder	64,602	9.84%
	Independent	Charlie Moffett	50,221	7.65%
	Independent	Charles Gordon Vick	8,407	1.28%
Majority			532,998
Turnout			656,566
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 366-372.
^ Vaughn May, "Buford Ellington," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: 29 December 2012.
^ ^a ^b Guide to U.S. elections - CQ Press, Congressional Quarterly, inc. CQ Press. 2005. ISBN 9781568029818. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
^ Cook, Rhodes (October 26, 2017). America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State - Rhodes Cook. ISBN 9781506368993. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

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Primary elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Results

See also

References