# 1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Although the Tennessee State Constitution had been amended in early 1978 to allow a governor to succeed himself, Incumbent Democratic governor Ray Blanton chose not to seek re-election amid several scandals. Republican Lamar Alexander once again ran for governor. In the general election, Alexander defeated Democratic nominee Jake Butcher with 55.8% of the vote.

## Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 3, 1978.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Jake Butcher, businessman
* Bob Clement, Public Service Commissioner
* Richard Fulton, Mayor of Nashville
* Roger Murray
* Shelley Stiles
* Bill Jacox
* William K. Jackson
* Ben Miller

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jake Butcher | 320,329 | 40.91 |
| | Democratic | Bob Clement | 288,577 | 36.86 |
| | Democratic | Richard Fulton | 122,101 | 15.60 |
| | Democratic | Roger Murray | 40,871 | 5.22 |
| | Democratic | Shelley Stiles | 6,325 | 0.81 |
| | Democratic | Bill Jacox | 2,010 | 0.26 |
| | Democratic | William K. Jackson | 1,365 | 0.17 |
| | Democratic | Ben Miller | 1,317 | 0.17 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 782,895 | 100.00 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Lamar Alexander, attorney and nominee for governor in 1974
* Harold Sterling, State Representative
* John H. Harper
* Hubert David Patty, perennial candidate

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Lamar Alexander | 230,922 | 85.97 |
| | Republican | Harold Sterling | 34,037 | 12.67 |
| | Republican | John H. Harper | 2,527 | 0.94 |
| | Republican | Hubert David Patty | 1,132 | 0.42 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 268,618 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Lamar Alexander, Republican
* Jake Butcher, Democratic

### Results

1978 Tennessee gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Lamar Alexander | 661,959 | 55.84% | +12.07% |
| | Democratic | Jake Butcher | 523,495 | 44.16% | −11.28% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 138,464 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,189,695 | | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | | |