2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee

The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball and was reelected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.

2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee

November 4, 2014
 
Nominee Lamar Alexander Gordon Ball
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 850,087 437,848
Percentage 61.9% 31.9%

County results

Alexander:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Ball:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Lamar Alexander
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Lamar Alexander
Republican

Background

Alexander was reelected with 65.1% of the vote in the 2008 election. Alexander stepped down from his leadership role as Republican Conference Chairman of the United States Senate in 2011, but announced that he would seek reelection to a third term.[1] Nashville businessman, counseling executive and former 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Larry Crim filed his announcement of candidacy with the Secretary of the United States Senate in January 2013.[2]

Republican primary

Although Alexander was initially thought to be vulnerable to a primary challenge from the right, he worked to avoid this and ultimately did not face a high-profile challenger. He declared his intention to run early, quickly won the endorsement of Governor Bill Haslam, every living former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman and the state's entire Republican congressional delegation (except scandal-hit Scott DesJarlais). He also raised a large amount of money and worked to avoid the mistakes of ousted Senators Bob Bennett and Richard Lugar by trying to stay in touch with his constituents, especially in East Tennessee. Moreover, out-of-state conservative organizations such as the Senate Conservatives Fund made little effort to defeat Alexander.[3]

During his re-election campaign in 2008, Alexander faced no opponents in the Republican primary.[4] As early as July 2013, it was obvious that the same would not be true in 2014. The weekend of July 20, 2013, a rally was held in Smyrna in opposition to Alexander. Activists attending the event included Williamson County GOP leader Kevin Kookogey.[5] By mid-August, Triton Polling released a poll showing Alexander trailing "a generic conservative" by 4.6 points.[6] But no "generic conservative" seemed to want to step up. In search of a candidate, a "Beat Lamar" PAC held a forum and invited Kookogey, Knox County mayor Tim Burchett, and Alexander's only formal opponent at the time, Brenda Lenard of Knoxville.[7]

On August 20, 2013, State Representative Joe Carr announced his candidacy. He had previously been opposing Scott Desjarlais in the race for Tennessee's 4th congressional district, but swapped races under public pressure.[8] Kookogey soon dropped out of the race.[9] Four candidates were then vetted in September by the "Coalition for a Constitutional Senate": Carr, truck driver Jerry Davis, business owner John McDaniel, and electrician Danny Page.[10] The coalition ultimately endorsed Carr with 59% of the vote,[11][12] but some felt that Carr's nomination was coerced by the leaders of the Beat Lamar PAC.[13][14] Independent candidate Danny Page was especially vocal on that issue.[15]

Entering the race late was George Flinn, a radiologist from Memphis who had run for Congress against Steve Cohen in 2012.[16] There was some speculation that Flinn was a spoiler deployed by Alexander to steal Tea Party votes from Carr.[16]

In the primary's final stretch Carr was endorsed by Sarah Palin,[17] but he did not receive much other support from outside of Tennessee, failing to receive endorsements from the Senate Conservatives Fund[18] or the Club for Growth.[19]

Ultimately, Alexander won the primary, though he recorded the lowest winning percentage (49.7%) and lowest margin of victory (9.2 points) ever in a primary for a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee. Carr won a larger percentage of the vote (40.5%) than the previous 11 challengers to sitting Republican U.S. Senators in Tennessee history combined (40.3%).[20]

Declared

Withdrew

  • Danny Page, electrician (running as an Independent)[25][26]

Declined

Endorsements

Lamar Alexander

Individuals

Joe Carr

Individuals

Organizations

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lamar
Alexander
Joe
Carr
George
Flinn
Brenda
Lenard
Danny
Page
Other Undecided
North Star Opinion Research* August 19–22, 2013 600 ± 4% 64% 22% 14%
69% 16% 15%
Public Policy Polling^ December 2–3, 2013 391 ± 5% 46% 40% 14%
MTSU January 23–26, 2014 ? ± ? 40% 7% 4% 49%
North Star Opinion Research* February 3–6, 2014 600 ± 4% 62% 17% 2% 1% 18%
North Star Opinion Research* May 12–14, 2014 600 ± 4% 56% 14% 1% 1% 22%
Tea Party Nation/Triton May 22, 2014 1,100 ± ? 44% 20% 9% 27%
Tea Party Nation/Triton July 10–11, 2014 1,099 ± 2.9% 43% 36% 21%
North Star Opinion Research* July 20–22, 2014 600 ± 4% 53% 21% 9% 15%
North Star Opinion Research* July 27–29, 2014 600 ± 4% 53% 24% 1% 1% 5% 16%
Red Racing Horses & PMI inc. July 28–30, 2014 400 ± 5% 41% 29% 5% 5% 20%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lamar
Alexander
Someone more
conservative
Undecided
Triton Polling August 15–16, 2013 680 ± 3.7% 44.9% 49.5% 5.6%
  • * Internal poll for Lamar Alexander campaign
  • ^ Internal Poll for Terry Adams campaign

Results

Republican primary results[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lamar Alexander (incumbent) 331,705 49.65%
Republican Joe Carr 271,324 40.61%
Republican George Shea Flinn 34,668 5.19%
Republican Christian Agnew 11,320 1.69%
Republican Brenda S. Lenard 7,908 1.18%
Republican John D. King 7,748 1.16%
Republican Erin Kent Magee 3,366 0.52%
Total votes 668,039 100.00%

Democratic primary

Declared

  • Terry Adams, attorney[43]
  • Gordon Ball, attorney[44]
  • Larry Crim, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012[45]
  • Gary Gene Davis, perennial candidate[21]

Withdrew

  • Jacob Maurer, high school educator and write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012[21][46]

Declined

Endorsements

Terry Adams

Public Figures

Other

Gordon Ball
Larry Crim

Public Figures

  • State Rep. Barbara Cooper of Memphis[56]
  • State Senator Reginald Tate of Memphis[56]
  • Commissioner Chantho Sourinho of Rutherford County, Tennessee [57]
  • Imogene Bolin, Esq., Attorney of Middle Tennessee and Professor Emeritus of Public Administration Middle Tennessee State University[58]
  • Tim Mills Minister, Author and U.S. Selective Service Board Member serving Tennessee Region[59]
  • Metro Nashville Councilman Tony Tenpenny [59]
  • Metro Nashville Councilman Doug Pardue [59]
  • Metro Nashville Councilman Scott Davis[59]
  • The Nashvillian[60]

Other

  • The Nashvillian, newspaper[61]
  • Memphis Regional News, newspaper[62]

Results

Democratic primary results[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gordon Ball 87,829 36.45%
Democratic Terry Adams 85,794 35.61%
Democratic Gary Gene Davis 42,549 17.66%
Democratic Larry Crim 24,777 10.28%
Total votes 240,949 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Endorsements

Lamar Alexander (R)

Tennessee State Government

Members of US Congress

Former Tennessee Officials

U.S. Governors

Gordon Ball (D)
Danny Page (I)
  • Jacob Brimm, former candidate for US Congress 2014- Tennessee's 7th district[66]
  • Mark "Coonrippy" Brown, Republican candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 2014[67]
  • Mary Cook, leader of the Smokey Mountain Tea Party[66]
  • June Griffin, US Senate Candidate in 2002, leader of Rhea County Tea Party[66]
  • John D. King, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014[66]
  • Brenda Lenard, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014 & 2012[66]
  • Erin Kent Magee, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014[66]
  • Kay White, leader of Tri-Cities Tea Party[66]
  • Libertycandidates.com[68]

Debates

The first was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee sponsored by Democrats United For Tennessee Inc. and Central Labor Council Members which included 15 Candidates for state and federal office attended by Larry Crim for U.S. Senate [69] (The Chattanoogan). Crim criticized Senators Bob Corker of Chattanooga and Lamar Alexander of Nashville for overreaching into the free enterprise of VW and their works councils which Mr. Crim stated also implicated free association rights of the company, workers and labor and the free vote.(http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/3/3/270950/Tennessee-Democratic-Candidates-And.aspx) (The Chattanoogan). U.S. Senate candidate Larry Crim and UAW International Rep. Tom Savage spoke on the importance of free elections at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga at the candidate debate. The candidate debate and forum was held at the Kingdom Center of Olivet Baptist Church. Mr. Crim said, "Protecting voter rights for a free and fair election are as fundamental to expressing the will of workers in the workplace as it is to Americans at the polling place". "For a U.S. Senator to offer incentives or threaten withdrawing public resources based on whether workers vote to recognize the union interferes with their free choice" continued the Democratic candidate for United States Senate. "It seems clear that there was an overreach here and I stand with labor on that" said Crim.[70]

The second debate was held in Bolivar, Tennessee and attended by Democrats Gordon Ball and Terry Adams, Republican George Flinn, and independents Ed Gauthier and Danny Page. The attendees criticized Alexander and Carr for not attending.[71][72]

The third was a "candidates' forum" after the primary in Cookeville on October 16. Only Republican nominee Lamar Alexander and Democrat nominee Gordon Ball were allowed to participate.[73]

The fourth debate was on October 23 at a Sheraton Hotel across from the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. The nominees for the Democratic Party (Gordon Ball), Libertarian Party (Joshua James), Green Party (Martin Pleasant), and Constitution Party (Joe Wilmoth) were all in attendance as well as independents Tom Emerson, Ed Gauthier, and Danny Page.[74] The moderator was blogger Tom Humphrey of the blog "Humphrey on the Hill". The candidates discussed a number of issues, including abortion, The Islamic State, Common Core education standards, and global warming, but the issue that stuck most with the media was marijuana. There was a general consensus among the seven candidates in attendance that the federal government should not be involved in the issue, and that authority on marijuana should be reserved to the states and people.[75] Incumbent Senator Lamar Alexander declined to participate in the debate, and was mocked by Democrat Gordon Ball as being "chicken". Alexander was speaking in front of various groups in Nashville and Murfreesboro that day.[74]

The fifth and sixth debates were held in Johnson City and Crossville, and featured candidates Gordon Ball and Danny Page. Senator Alexander was invited, but attended neither.[76][77]

Campaign

In September, an education summit was held in Nashville by Governor Bill Haslam. A protest of the summit (which was largely a protest of the "Common Core" standards) was attended by Democrat Gordon Ball and independent Danny Page.[78]

In late September, eleven members of the Tennessee General Assembly who had backed Joe Carr in the primaries announced they would back Alexander in the general election, saying, "We feel that it is vitally important to the country that we stand together and support replacing the liberal agenda that is now in control of the United States Senate". Carr himself abstained from the endorsement.[63]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[79] Solid R November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[80] Safe R November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[81] Safe R November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[82] Safe R November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Lamar
Alexander (R)
Gordon
Ball (D)
Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports April 29–30, 2014 750 ± 4% 51% 25% 10% 15%
CBS News/New York Times July 5–24, 2014 1,465 ± 5.4% 48% 33% 14% 5%
Rasmussen Reports August 11–12, 2014 750 ± 4% 47% 32% 10% 12%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov August 18 – September 2, 2014 1,056 ± 4% 47% 32% 10% 11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov September 20 – October 1, 2014 1,007 ± 4% 53% 32% 2% 12%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov October 16–23, 2014 974 ± 5% 55% 33% 2% 10%

Results

2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee[83]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lamar Alexander (incumbent) 850,087 61.87% -3.27%
Democratic Gordon Ball 437,848 31.87% +0.23%
Constitution Joe Wilmoth 36,088 2.63% N/A
Green Martin Pleasant 12,570 0.91% N/A
Independent Tom Emerson, Jr. 11,157 0.81% N/A
Independent Danny Page 7,713 0.56% N/A
Independent Rick Tyler 5,759 0.42% N/A
Independent Joshua James 5,678 0.41% N/A
Independent Bartholomew J. Phillips 2,386 0.17% N/A
Independent Edmund L. Gauthier 2,314 0.17% N/A
Independent Eric Schechter 1,673 0.12% N/A
Independent Choudhury Salekin 787 0.06% N/A
Write-in 5 0.00% N/A
Total votes 1,374,065 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. "Alexander quitting leadership post in Senate". Politico. September 20, 2011.
  2. http://knoxblogs.com/humphreyhill/2013/01/31/larry_crim_files_as_democratic/
  3. Alexis Levinson (August 1, 2014). "How Lamar Alexander Staved Off His Primary Challenger".
  4. "Elections - Tennessee Secretary of State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  5. "Alexander under fire on immigration".
  6. "Triton Polling - Tennessee US Senate Survey - Topline Results _3_". Archived from the original on October 30, 2013.
  7. "www.tennessean.com/article/20130816/NEWS02/308160101/1972/NEWS02".
  8. "Rep. Joe Carr Announces Primary Challenge of Sen. Lamar Alexander".
  9. "Kevin Kookogey backs out of tea party bid against Sen. Alexander". wbir.com. WBIR-TV. September 3, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
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  15. "Tea Party Candidate Says He's Been Shut Out of Beat Lamar Process". The Tennessean.
  16. "George Flinn plans to run against Lamar Alexander - Memphis Business Journal".
  17. "Sarah Palin endorses Joe Carr against Sen. Lamar Alexander".
  18. http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "PHILLIPS: Ken Cuccinelli: Put your money where your mouth is".
  19. "Challengers From the Right Struggle in G.O.P. Senate Primaries in 2 States". The New York Times. August 5, 2014.
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  22. SCHELZIG, ERIK (August 20, 2013). "State Rep. Joe Carr announces Alexander challenge". The Miami Herald. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
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  66. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-09-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  68. "Page not found – Liberty Organico!". Cite uses generic title (help)
  69. (http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/3/3/270950/Tennessee-Democratic-Candidates-And.aspx)
  70. (http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/3/6/271232/UAW-And-U.S.-Senate-Candidate-Address.aspx)
  71. "Bolivar bristles at politicians' debate snub".
  72. "Absent Incumbents Take Lumps at Bolivar Forum".
  73. "Lamar Alexander, Gordon Ball exchange barbs at forum".
  74. "Ball, others debate without Alexander".
  75. "Tennessee candidates dismiss federal role on pot during Nashville debate".
  76. "Two US Senate Candidates Hold Forum at Holiday Inn". wjhl.com. Nexstar Broadcasting.
  77. "Ball Issues Invitation to Alexander for Final Debate Sunday". November 1, 2014.
  78. "Summit previews next round of Common Core fight".
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Official campaign websites
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