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 County results Clement: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Witt: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1952 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1952, to elect the nextgovernor of Tennessee. IncumbentDemocratic governor,Gordon Browning was defeated in the primary byFrank G. Clement. In the general election, Clement defeatedRepublican nominee R. Beecher Witt with 79.4% of the vote.
In the primary election, Clement derided Governor Browning as "dishonest, indecent, and immoral,"[1] and criticized the state's purchase of an expensive office building in Nashville. Browning, nearly twice Clement's age, struggled to adapt to the new medium of television.[2] He lost to Clement in the primary, 302,491 votes to 245,166.[3]
Primary elections were held on August 7, 1952.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank G. Clement | 302,491 | 46.74% | |
| Democratic | Gordon Browning (incumbent) | 245,166 | 37.89% | |
| Democratic | Clifford Allen | 75,269 | 11.63% | |
| Democratic | Clifford Pierce | 24,191 | 3.74% | |
| Total votes | 647,117 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank G. Clement | 640,290 | 79.37% | ||
| Republican | R. Beecher Witt | 166,377 | 20.62% | ||
| 104 | 0.01% | ||||
| Majority | 473,913 | ||||
| Turnout | 806,771 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
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