TENNESSEE
      Nov. 8, 2022 Governor                                      

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+Bill Lee (R) i
 		1,128,097
 		64.93%
Jason Martin (D)
 		572,153
 		32.93%
John Gentry (I)
0.88%
Constance M. Every (I)
0.59%
Deborah Rouse (I)
0.22%
Rick Tyler (I)
0.14%
Charles Van Morgan (I)
0.11%
Basil Marceaux (I)
0.09%
Alfred O'Neil (I)
0.07%
Michael Scantland (I)
0.05%

1,737,454
The eight independents at <1% each totaled 37,204 votes (2.14%).

Plurality: 555,944 votes (32.00 percentage points).
 TN Secretary of State


Notes:  Gov. Bill Lee (R) easily won a second term, defeating Dr. Jason Martin (D), a critical care physician from Nashville, and eight little known independents. 

Lee refused to debate.  He improved on his 2018 margin of 21.01 percentage points, and on Trump's 2020 margin of 23.21 percentage points.
 
The independents had little impact on the race.  They were: Constance Every, a nonprofit founder and disabled combat veteran from Knoxville who was formerly homeless; John Gentry, a constitutional Republican from Goodlettsville; Basil Marceaux from Soddy Daisy, who also ran in 2018 and 2010; Charles Van Morgan from Knoxville; Alfred O'Neil from Newport; Deborah Rouse, a grandmother from Athens who ran for president in 2020; Michael E. Scantland, a sales manager from Baxter; and Rick Tyler a frequent candidate and white supremacist from Delano.  Additionally, Lemichael Wilson, who ran for Mayor of Memphis in 2019 and is vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee, ran a write-in campaign.

August 4 Primaries
Lee was unopposed for the Republican nomination. 

Three candidates competed in the Democratic primary.  Dr. Carnita Atwater, director of an African-American history and culture museum in Memphis, community activist and former nurse, was first to enter the race, in Apr. 2021.  Dr. Jason Martin, a critical care physician from Nashville, announced his candidacy on Aug. 23, 2021 (>); he has been particularly critical of Gov. Lee's response to the COVID pandemic.  Martin kicked off his campaign with a 95-county "Tennessee Thrives" tour. During the course of the primary he significantly outspent his opponents.  Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. announced his candidacy on Sept. 8 (1,2).  An attorney in his mid-30s, he was elected to the Council in 2019. 

The candidates participated in three debates hosted by the Tennessee Democratic Party.  Atwater and Smiley debated on May 26 in Knoxville; Martin was recovering from COVID (>).  All three debated on June 21 in Nashville (>), and on July 12 in Memphis (>).  Martin eked out a narrow victory, garnering 39.39% of the vote to 38.81% for Smiley and 21.81% for Atwater.


Campaign Managers:
Bill Lee:  David Topping
(Apr. 2022)  Chief of staff (Feb. 2021-Mar. 2022) and deputy chief of staff (Feb. 2019-Feb. 2021) to the Tennessee Secretary of State.  Field director on Tennesseans for Student Success, Mar. 2016-Feb. 2019.  Deputy campaign manager on Martha Roby for Congress, Nov. 2015-Mar. 2016.  Policy assistant to the Tennessee Secretary of State, Oct. 2014-Mar. 2016.  Research director for the Tennessee Republican Party, Aug. 2012-Oct. 2014.  Director of business development for Helispec Inc., June-Aug. 2012.  Field representative on Bachus for Congress, Jan.-Mar. 2012.  NH field representative on Jon Huntsman for President, June 2011-Jan. 2012.  Political director on Gerald Dial for Alabama State Senate, Aug.-Dec. 2010.  B.A. in political science from Auburn University, 2011; associate's degree in music from Wallace State Community College-Hanceville, 2009.

Jason Martin:  Emily Cupples
 Managing principal at Amplified Public Strategies from Apr. 2021.  Director of communications for the Tennessee Democratic Party, Dec. 2019-Apr. 2021.  Director of the Midtown Memphis Development Corporation, Sept. 2018-Sept. 2020.  Senior policy advisor on Torrey Harris for District 90, Sept. 2019-Jan. 2020.  Strategic advisor on Davin Clemons for City Council, Dec. 2018-Oct. 2019.  Community director for an education advocacy campaign, July-Nov. 2018.  Campaign manager on Tami Sawyer for Shelby County Commission, Jan.-Aug. 2018.  Special project for Choose 901, Jan. 2013-Jan. 2018.  Data analyst for Education Pioneers, Sept. 2015-July 2016.  B.A. in political science and government from The University of Memphis, 2021.


See also:
—.  "Tenn. Gov. Lee Looks Past Democrat Martin in Reelection Bid."  Associated Press, Nov. 1, 2022.

Kimberlee Kruesi.  "As election nears, Tennessee Gov. Lee won't debate Martin."  Associated Press, Oct. 1224, 20

Samuel Hardiman.  "Jason Martin's inclusion on August's Democratic primary ballot for governor challenged."  The Commercial Appeal, Apr. 6, 2022.

Joel Ebert.  "'I love this job': Bill Lee says he'll seek a second term as Tennessee governor." Tennessean, Sept. 3, 2020.




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