1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election

1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election
	County results; McWherter: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Dunn: 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Lamar Alexander; Republican	Elected Governor ; Ned McWherter; Democratic

The 1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Democratic nominee Ned McWherter defeated former Republican governor Winfield Dunn with 54.3% of the vote.

With this win, McWherter flipped the state back into Democratic control, with the state legislature also being controlled by Democrats.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 7, 1986.^[1]

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ned McWherter	314,449	42.47
	Democratic	Jane Eskind	225,551	30.46
	Democratic	Richard Fulton	190,016	25.66
	Democratic	Joseph L. Crichton	6,582	0.89
	Democratic	Bill Jacox	3,817	0.52
Total votes			740,415	100.00

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Winfield Dunn	222,458	94.23
	Republican	Hubert David Patty	7,660	3.25
	Republican	Charles Gordon Vick	5,954	2.52
Total votes			236,072	100.00

1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ned McWherter	656,602	54.26%
	Republican	Winfield Dunn	553,449	45.74%
Majority			103,153
Turnout			1,210,339
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing