Bredesen narrowly defeats Hilleary for governor
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With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bredesen had 843,476 votes, or 51 percent, to Hilleary’s 796,943 votes, or 48 percent in official totals.
Bredesen nearly split the vote with Hilleary in traditionally Republican counties in East Tennessee and ran well in Democrat heavy Shelby and Davidson counties.
“To have won Knox County is fabulous, and it is most of the reason I am standing here,” Bredesen said.
The former Nashville mayor acknowledged the help he got across party lines during his victory speech before an enthusiastic crowd of supporters at a downtown Nashville hotel.
“I want to thank all the Republicans who voted for me today. We really tried to reach out to everyone in this campaign,” he said.
He later said the key to his victory was “a lot of people who were willing to vote for the man and not the party. They wanted someone with business experience and were comfortable with me being a conservative Democrat.”
Hilleary, who gave up his 4th District congressional seat to run for governor, congratulated Bredesen during his concession speech at a Franklin hotel and thanked his supporters for helping him “run a great race.”
“Although our campaign did not come out on top tonight, America and democracy did,” he said. “That triumph alone is reason enough for us to celebrate.”
Bob Swansbrough, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga political science professor, said Bredesen was able to attract “the old part of the Republican Party” in East Tennessee because they tend to be more moderate.
He said Bredesen attracted the votes that were the “base of support” for Hilleary’s GOP primary opponent, Jim Henry.
Hilleary agreed that there were probably “scars left” from his primary race in traditionally Republican Knox County. He declined to elaborate but said he expected a “slice” of Republicans who favor the income tax to vote for Bredesen.
For many voters, the choice came down to who had the most business and government experience, and which one was the least likely to flip-flop on the income tax issue.
Two-term GOP incumbent Don Sundquist opposed and then supported an income tax after his re-election in 1998, causing him to lose the support of his party and the public.
Sundquist, in a prepared statement, congratulated his successor.
“Our administration looks forward to working with Governor-elect Bredesen and his staff to ensure a smooth transition. Being governor of this great state is an awesome responsibility, and I wish Governor-elect Bredesen him all the best,” said Sundquist, who could not run for a third consecutive term.
Hilleary supporter, Bill Beavers, 33, of Thompson Station, sat dejectedly in the lobby of the hotel lobby after Hilleary’s concession speech.
He said Hilleary suffered from the stigma associated with Sundquist.
“I think that played a part. That was part of the sentiment. People were wanting to change” from the GOP,” Beavers said.
The governor’s race pitted Bredesen, a wealthy businessman who helped bring the NFL Titans and Dell Computer Corp. to Nashville as mayor during 1991-1999, against the rural, conservative Hilleary, a congressman whose only other job experience was working in his family’s textile business in Spring City.
Hilleary, 43, tried to distinguish himself as the native son who opposed taxes while painting Bredesen as a tax-and-spend outsider.
Bredesen, 58, grew up in Shortsville, N.Y., but moved to Nashville in 1975 with his second wife, Andre Conte. In the 1980s, he founded HealthAmerica, built it into the nation’s second-largest health maintenance organization and sold it for $47 million.
During the campaign, the polls never showed a clear winner going into Election Day. An October poll showed Bredesen and Hilleary almost even, with 10 percent of voters undecided.
The race was not only close — it was the most expensive in state history at more than $18 million.
Hilleary raised $7.4 million, including $3 million with help from President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and Bredesen collected $11 million, including a $3 million personal loan to his campaign.
The spending topped the previous record — $15 million in the 1994 gubernatorial race Bredesen ran against Sundquist, another four-term Republican congressman. Bredesen spent $6 million of his own money and lost by 142,852 votes.
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On the Net:
Bredesen: http://www.bredesen.com
Hilleary: http://www.vanhilleary.com