1988 United States Senate election in Tennessee

1988 United States Senate election in Tennessee
	County results; Sasser: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Andersen: 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Jim Sasser ; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator; Jim Sasser ; Democratic

Last updated November 28, 2023

The 1988 United States election in Tennessee was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jim Sasser won re-election to a third term, defeating feating Republican nominee Bill Anderson with 65.1% of the vote.

Major candidates

Democratic

Jim Sasser, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1977

Republican

Bill Anderson, attorney^[1]

Campaign

Sasser raised $1.5 million in 1987 to ward off significant opposition according to his aide Doug Hall. Anderson started raising funds for a congressional campaign in 1985, under the belief that U.S. Representative Jimmy Quillen would retire, but Quillen sought reelection. Anderson instead switched to a senatorial campaign.^[2]

Sasser declined to acknowledge Anderson's attacks during the campaign and instead focused on his congressional work while his staff responded to the attacks. Anderson called for six televised debates, but Sasser rejected the demand and only accepted one debate in Nashville.^[2]

After the election Anderson stated that polling conducted by his campaign reported that "one out of three Tennesseans had not yet identified who I was and what my message means".^[3]

Sasser won every county in the state except for one. He received 58% of the vote in the eastern region of the state which is usually Republican, 68% in the middle, and 71% in the west.^[4]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bill Anderson Republican	Jim Sasser Democratic	Other / Undecided
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy^[3]	Early October			27%	62%	11%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy^[3]	October 26–28, 1988			26%	65%	9%

Endorsements

Bill Anderson

Newspapers

Chattanooga Times Free Press ^[2]

Jim Sasser

Newspapers

Knoxville News Sentinel ^[2]

Results

1988 United States Senate election in Tennessee^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Sasser (incumbent)	1,020,061	65.09%
	Republican	Bill Andersen	541,033	34.52%
	Independent	Khalil-Ullah Al-Muhaymin	6,042	0.39%
	Independent	Write-ins	45	0.39%
Total votes			1,567,181	100.00%

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References

↑ Lamis, Alexander P. (August 1999). Southern Politics in the 1990s. ISBN 9780807166772.
1 2 3 4 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 209.
1 2 3 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 210.
↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 215.
↑ Thomas 1989, p. 23.

Works cited

Moreland, Laurence; Steed, Robert; Baker, Tod, eds. (1991). The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275931455.
Thomas, Richard, ed. (1989). Federal Election 88: Election Results for U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives (PDF). Federal Election Commission.

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[1] Lamis, Alexander P. (August 1999). Southern Politics in the 1990s. ISBN 9780807166772.

[FOOTNOTEMorelandSteedBaker1991209-2] 1 2 3 4 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 209.

[FOOTNOTEMorelandSteedBaker1991210-3] 1 2 3 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 210.

[FOOTNOTEMorelandSteedBaker1991215-4] Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 215.

[FOOTNOTEThomas198923-5] Thomas 1989, p. 23.

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