1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1982 United States gubernatorial elections.

1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election

←  1978 November 2, 1982 1986  →

Nominee Lamar Alexander Randy Tyree Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 737,693 500,937 Percentage 59.56% 40.44%

County results Alexander:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Tyree:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election Lamar Alexander Republican Elected Governor Lamar Alexander Republican

The 1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican governor Lamar Alexander was now qualified to run for re-election because of Tennessee's 1978 constitutional amendment allowing governors to serve a second consecutive four-year term. ^[1] Alexander ran for re-election and defeated Democratic nominee Randy Tyree with 59.6% of the vote in the general election.

Alexander was the first Republican to be re-elected governor since 1912.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 5, 1982. ^[2]

Republican primary

Lamar Alexander was unopposed. ^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Randy Tyree, Mayor of Knoxville
• Anna Belle Clement O'Brien, State Senator
• Tom Henry
• Tommy McKnight
• John G. Love
• Luther M. Kindall
• James W. Thomas
• Virginia Nyabongo
• Boyce McCall

Results

Democratic primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Randy Tyree	318,205	50.05
	Democratic	Anna Belle Clement O'Brien	254,500	40.03
	Democratic	Tom Henry	19,453	3.06
	Democratic	Tommy McKnight	10,761	1.69
	Democratic	John G. Love	10,600	1.67
	Democratic	Luther M. Kindall	7,792	1.23
	Democratic	James W. Thomas	6,052	0.95
	Democratic	Virginia Nyabongo	5,885	0.93
	Democratic	Boyce McCall	2,577	0.41
Total votes			635,825	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Lamar Alexander, Republican
• Randy Tyree, Democratic

Results

1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander (incumbent)	737,693	59.56%	+3.72%
	Democratic	Randy Tyree	500,937	40.44%	−3.72%
Majority			237,026
Turnout			1,238,927
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 370–381, 370–393.
2. "Tennessee Blue Book". 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
3. "1982 Election Results for Tennessee -- RightDataUSA.com". rightdatausa.com. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
4. Cook, Rhodes (October 26, 2017). America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State - Rhodes Cook. ISBN   9781506368993 . Retrieved December 5, 2018.