TENNESSEE
      Nov. 6, 2012 Senate                                      

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+Bob Corker (R) i
 		1,506,443
 		64.89%
Mark Clayton (D)
 		705,882
 		30.41%
Martin Pleasant (G)
 		38,472
 1.66%
Shaun E. Crowell (I)
20,936
 0.90%
Kermit Steck (C) 18,620
 0.80%
James Higdon (I)
 		8,085
 0.35%
Michel Joseph Long (I)
 		8,080
 0.35%
Troy Stephen Scoggin (I)
 		7,148
 0.21%
David Gatchell (I)
 		6,523
 0.28%
write-ins
 		1,288

2,321,477
Plurality: 800,561 votes (34.48 percentage points).
 TN Secretary of State


Notes:  Sen. Bob Corker (R) easily won a second term, defeating  Mark Clayton (D), a flooring installer, and seven other candidates. 

Corker won the Aug. 2 Republican primary with 85.1% of the vote, defeating four little known candidates.  Seven little known candidates competed in the Aug. 2 primary, and Clayton, who had also run for Senate four years earlier, finishing fourth in the Aug. 7, 2008 Democratic primary, finished first with 48,196 votes (30.0%), while the next closest candidates were well behind at 15.4% and 15.1%.  On Aug. 3 the Tennessee Democratic Party issued a statement disavowing Clayton because of his association with Public Advocate, which it termed "a known hate group":

"...Many Democrats in Tennessee knew nothing about any of the candidates in the race; so they voted for the person at the top of the ticket. Unfortunately, none of the other Democratic candidates was able to run the race needed to gain statewide visibility or support. Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group in Washington, D.C., and the Tennessee Democratic Party disavows his candidacy, will not do anything to promote or support him in any way, and urges Democrats to write in a candidate of their choice in November."

Clayton did not wage an active campaign and the Washington Post dubbed him 2012's "worst candidate,"  Meanwhile, according to Open Secrets the Corker campaign spent $8.5 million and finished with cash on hand of $5.7 million.


Campaign Managers:
Bob Corker:  Mark Braden
(Aug. 2011)  Chief of staff and communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party, Jan.-Aug. 2011.  Campaign manager on Richard Burr for Senate, Jan.-Nov. 2010.  Deputy executive director of the Christie transition, Nov. 2009-Jan. 2010.  Deputy campaign manager on Chris Christie for Governor, Jan.-Nov. 2009.  Senior national advance rep. on John McCain 2008, Feb. 2007-Dec. 2008.  Legislative aide to U.S. Rep. John Duncan, Jr., Sept. 2005-Feb. 2007.  B.A. in political science from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2005.

Mark Clayton:  none


See also:
David A. Farenthold.  "2012's worst candidate? With Mark Clayton Tennessee Democrats hit bottom."  The Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2012.

Tim Murphy.  "Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate."  Mother Jones, Aug. 3, 2012.




[Mark Clayton no lit.]
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