1986Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
1986 election for Tennessee Governor
Governor · Tennessee
Ned McWherter (D) won with 54.3% of the vote, defeating Winfield Dunn (R) by 8.5 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Ned McWherterDemocrat · winner
54.3%656,602
Winfield DunnRepublican
45.7%553,449
1,210,051 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1986
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET