Phil Bredesen | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2008 | |
| 48thGovernor of Tennessee | |
| In office January 18, 2003 – January 15, 2011 | |
| Lieutenant | |
| Preceded by | Don Sundquist |
| Succeeded by | Bill Haslam |
| 4thMayor of Metropolitan Nashville | |
| In office September 27, 1991 – September 24, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Boner |
| Succeeded by | Bill Purcell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (1943-11-21)November 21, 1943 (age 82) Oceanport, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (/ˈbrɛdəsən/; born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48thgovernor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was elected in2002 with 50.6% of the vote and re-elected in2006 with 68.6%. He served as the66th mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. Bredesen is the founder of the HealthAmerica Corporation, which he sold in 1986. He is the last Democrat to win and/or hold statewide office in Tennessee.
Since 2011, he has been chair of Silicon Ranch Corporation, a firm that develops and operatessolar power stations. On December 6, 2017, Bredesen announced he would run forBob Corker's open seat in theUnited States Senate, as Corker chose not to seek reelection in2018.[1] On August 2, 2018, he won the Democratic primary and faced off againstRepublican nomineeMarsha Blackburn. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018. After losing the Senate race, he and his campaign team founded Clearloop, a renewable energy startup.[2]
Bredesen has been widely characterized as amoderate Democrat who isfiscally conservative butsocially liberal.[3]
Bredesen was born inOceanport, New Jersey, the son of Norma Lucille (Walborn) and Philip Norman Bredesen.[4] His parents divorced and his mother was employed as a bank teller. During Bredesen's childhood, his grandmother, who sewed for a living, lived with the family. Bredesen grew up inShortsville, New York, 30 miles fromRochester.[5] He attended Red Jacket Central Elementary and Secondary School in the adjoining village ofManchester.[6]
He received a scholarship toHarvard University, where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in physics.[7] In 1967, Bredesen moved toLexington, Massachusetts, where he did classified work forItek and received a draft deferment during theVietnam War.[5]
In 1968, Bredesen worked for the campaign of Minnesota SenatorEugene McCarthy, who was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.[5] Bredesen launched his first political campaign in 1969, when he ran for theMassachusetts State Senate. He was defeated by a popular incumbentRepublican,Ronald MacKenzie.[5]
Bredesen joined pharmaceutical firmG.D. Searle & Company in 1971, and moved toLondon in 1973 to manage one of the company's divisions.[8] In 1974, he marriedAndrea Conte. In 1975, the family moved toNashville, Tennessee, where Conte had been recruited byHospital Corporation of America.[5] In Nashville, Bredesen founded HealthAmerica Corp., an insurance company.[9] He sold his controlling interest in HealthAmerica in 1986,[9] and because of the wealth he earned from the company, did not accept his gubernatorial salary.[10]
In 1987, Bredesen ran for mayor of Nashville. He finished second out of 10 candidates with 30% of the vote, behind only5th District CongressmanBill Boner, who won 46%.[11] Since Boner fell short of the necessary threshold for an outright victory, he and Bredesen faced each other in arunoff. Boner won the runoff, 75,790 votes to 66,153,[12] largely by emphasizing that he was a Nashville native while Bredesen was aNortherner.[13]
In December 1987, Bredesen ran in the Democraticprimary for the 5th District congressional seat left open by Boner's victory. He finished a distant second behindBob Clement, son of former governorFrank G. Clement.[12]
Ahead of the 1991 mayoral race, Boner was accused of marital infidelity, and declined to run.[14] Bredesen won the election, defeating Councilwoman Betty Nixon, 78,896 votes to 30,282.[12]
As mayor of Nashville, Bredesen added more than 440 new teachers, built 32 new schools and renovated 43 others. He also implemented a back-to-basics curriculum to teach students the fundamentals of learning.[9] Under the Bredesen Administration, theNFL'sHouston Oilers (nowTennessee Titans) were brought to Nashville and furnished with a new stadium,Nissan Stadium; theNHL awarded Nashville its first of four new expansion franchises, theNashville Predators; andBridgestone Arena was built.[14] Bredesen also attempted to lure theNBA'sMinnesota Timberwolves and later theNHL'sNew Jersey Devils to Nashville, but both efforts were unsuccessful.[15] A new downtownlibrary was built as a cornerstone of major improvements to the entire library system, the city's downtown entertainment district was renovated,[9] and two parks, Beaman Park and Shelby Bottoms, were established.[14]
Bredesen did not run for a third term in 1999. The Metro Charter had been amended in 1994 to limit city council members to two consecutive four-year terms, and was worded in such a way that it appeared to apply to mayors as well.[16] Although mayors had been permitted to serve a maximum of three consecutive terms since the formation of Metro Nashville in 1963, Bredesen did not make an issue of that.[citation needed]
Bredesen declared his candidacy for the1994 Tennessee gubernatorial election in November 1993.[17] He won the Democratic nomination for governor, capturing 53% of the vote in a primary that included more than a half-dozen candidates, among them Shelby County MayorBill Morris and state senatorSteve Cohen.[12] In the November general election, Bredesen was defeated by the Republican nominee, 7th district U.S. RepresentativeDon Sundquist, 807,104 votes to 664,252.[12]
Bredesen ran for governor of Tennessee again in 2002. He easily won the Democratic nomination, capturing nearly 80% of the vote in a six-candidate primary,[12] and faced Republican 4th district U.S. RepresentativeVan Hilleary in November (the incumbent, Sundquist, was term-limited). Bredesen promised to manage state government better, improve Tennessee's schools and use his experience as a managed-care executive to fixTennCare, which had created a critical budget shortfall toward the end of Sundquist's term. His reputation as a moderate Democrat was well established (he is a member of the "good government" faction of the Nashville Democratic Party), so Hilleary's attempts to brand him as aliberal ultimately failed. Republicans also suffered from Sundquist's unpopular attempts to implement a state income tax.[18] Bredesen garnered more support inEast Tennessee than was usual for a Democrat, especially one from Nashville. In November, Bredesen narrowly defeated Hilleary, 837,284 votes to 786,803.[12]
Bredesen became governor amid a fiscal crisis, with a predicted state budget shortfall of $800 million. Much of the shortfall was due to TennCare, which was $650 million over budget.[5] Sundquist had hoped to remedy the budget shortfall by implementing an income tax, but this proved wildly unpopular and was never enacted.[18] Bredesen argued that services would have to be cut, saying, "you can't have Massachusetts services and Tennessee taxes."[18] In 2003, he signed a 9% across-the-board spending cut.[5] In 2004, he enacted a series of changes to TennCare, essentially removing 191,000Medicaid-eligible patients and reducing benefits.[5] By 2006, these changes had reduced the program's cost by more than $500 million.[5] Bredesen used some of the savings to establish a "safety net" for health clinics affected by the cuts. In 2006, he implemented "Cover Tennessee" to cover people with preexisting conditions and the uninsured.[5]
During his first term, Bredesen enacted a number of measures aimed at improving education. In 2003, the state established theTennessee Lottery to fund college scholarships for the state's high school graduates.[5] Teachers' pay was raised above the average salary in theSoutheast, and Tennessee's pre-kindergarten initiative was expanded to include a statewide program for four-year-olds. Bredesen created the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation, a statewide expansion ofDolly Parton's Imagination Library that offers free books for children, and in his fourth year, he signed legislation that increased funding for education by $366.5 million, much of which came from savings due to TennCare reform.[5]
To attract new industry, Bredesen worked with the General Assembly to reform Tennessee's worker compensation system (changes supported by the business community and opposed by trial lawyers),[5] and invest in programs to help laid-off employees develop new skills. During his tenure, 2,889 companies, including Nissan andInternational Paper, expanded or moved to Tennessee, bringing more than 104,000 jobs and $12.8 billion in new business investment to the state.[19]
Bredesen launched a war onmethamphetamine abuse, focusing on treatment, prevention and public awareness, with the Governor's Meth-Free Tennessee initiative. Criminal penalties and resources for law enforcement were also enhanced as part of this program, which led to a 50% decline in illegal and toxicmeth labs.[20] In 2005, Bredesen signed legislation establishing the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, which increased the state's land-buying power in hopes of protecting ecologically significant land and conserving or restoring historically significant areas.[21]
In his 2006 reelection campaign, Bredesen brushed off a primary challenge fromJohn Jay Hooker, winning nearly 90% of the vote.[12] In the general election, he defeated State SenatorJim Bryson, 1,247,491 votes to 540,853,[12] sweeping all 95 counties and garnering more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in state history.
In 2007, Bredesen was criticized for proposing a private donation funded $4.8 million dining room upgrade to entertain lawmakers and other dignitaries to theTennessee Governor's Mansion. Critics labelled the proposed complex "Bredesen's Bunker," and derided it as too elaborate and expensive.[22]
In August 2008, Bredesen enacted further cuts to TennCare, placing restrictions on services to 10,800 TennCare patients who received some type of home nursing care. The new limits affected about 1,000 of those patients.[23][24]
In the 2008 elections, Republicans gained control of both chambers of the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction. The onset of theGreat Recession also limited what Bredesen could accomplish during his remaining years in office. In 2009, he called for nearly $129 million in state spending cuts and enacted a voluntary buyout for state employees that reduced the workforce by 5% without requiring layoffs.[5] In April 2009, Bredesen signed a bill into law which eliminated thumbprint requirements for gun purchases.[25] In May 2009, Bredesen vetoed a bill that would have allowed people to carry guns in bars, but the legislature overrode his veto.[5] In June 2009, Bredesen signed a bill into law allowing loaded guns in cars.[26]
Since leaving the governor's office in 2011, Bredesen has been the chairman of a solar energy plant developer.[27]
Viewed by many as amoderate Democrat based in the South, Bredesen was touted as a potential presidential candidate in 2008, but he said he had no interest in joining the wide field of Democrats seeking the nomination. He did not comment on joining a Democratic ticket asVice President of the United States. On June 4, 2008, Bredesen endorsedBarack Obama for U.S. president.[28] Following the withdrawal of former SenatorTom Daschle as nominee forUnited States Secretary of Health and Human Services in theObama Administration,The Atlantic correspondentMarc Ambinder reported that Bredesen was being vetted as a possible replacement. Kansas GovernorKathleen Sebelius was eventually chosen for the post.[29][30]
On September 26, 2017, incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorBob Corker announced he would not seek reelection in 2018. On December 6, 2017, Bredesen announced that he would run for Corker's open seat.[1] Bredesen won the Democratic primary on August 2, 2018, with 348,302 votes (91.50%).[31]Marsha Blackburn won the Republican primary on the same day.[32]
In April 2018, Corker said that Bredesen was "a very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good business person" with "real appeal" and "crossover appeal", and that the two of them had cooperated well over the years, but that he would vote for Blackburn and contribute to her campaign.[33][34] Corker said that he would not campaign against Bredesen.[35] After Corker's praise for Bredesen, Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell warned Corker that such comments could cost the Republican Party its Senate majority.[34][36] Shortly after Corker's comments, PresidentDonald Trump tweeted an endorsement of Marsha Blackburn, who was running for the Republican nomination in the Senate race.[34] During the campaign, Trump attacked Bredesen.[37]
According toPolitico, Bredesen represents a "center-right coalition" including "Chamber of Commerce-type Republicans."[36] During the campaign, Bredesen said that he opposed Trump's tariff policy, saying that the tariffs amounted to a tax on Tennesseans and "they will drive up prices, hurt our economy and will cost jobs, especially in our important automotive sector".[37] Bredesen praised Corker for publicly opposing Trump's tariff policy.[37]
In October 2018, singer-songwriterTaylor Swift endorsed Bredesen. The endorsement was notable because Swift had never been publicly political before. She said Blackburn's "voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me" and shared a link to the nonpartisan voter registration websiteVote.org, which saw a significant spike in page views and new registrations.[38][39]
Blackburn defeated Bredesen in the November 6 election.[40] Although polls showed the race to be close for much of the cycle, Blackburn pulled ahead after theconfirmation hearings for JusticeBrett Kavanaugh, which are believed to have mobilized Republican voters. In the general election, Bredesen lost by just under 11 points, taking 43.9 percent of the vote to Blackburn's 54.7 percent. He carried only three counties —Davidson,Shelby andHaywood.[41] The race was called for Blackburn less than half an hour after the polls closed.
Bredesen has been described as amoderate Democrat.[42][43] According toThe Tennessean, he is a "political moderate", "known for his middle-of-the-road, fiscally conservative politics" and has "occasionally irritated liberals in his party".[27]On The Issues, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that examines politicians' records and statements, identifies Bredesen as a "moderatepopulist conservative".[44] According to thePolitical Encyclopedia of U.S. States and Regions, Bredesen has embraced both fiscal conservatism and social liberalism "in a way that has a broad appeal to voters across the political spectrum".[45] In his 2018 Senate campaign, Bredesen ran on a moderate platform.[46]
The New York Times wrote of Bredesen's 2018 campaign that "in an indication of how precarious it can be to run statewide as a Democrat in the South, he also made no mention of his party and did not refer to President Trump by name."
Bredesen has said theAffordable Care Act "needs fixing."[47] In 2018, he said, "I was not a fan of the Affordable Care Act but when it passed, I said, 'it's the law of the land, let's make it work.'"[48]
Bredesen ispro-choice on abortion.[49] He supports legal access to abortion, but did not consider it a defining issue of his platform.[50] He supported a state constitutional amendment to bangay marriage in 2006, but supported the right of same-sex couples to adopt children.[49] He supports non-discrimination protections for same-sex couples.[51] Bredesen is a supporter ofcapital punishment.[52]
Bredesen had an A rating from the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) as governor, but in 2018, the NRA gave him a D rating.[53] During his Senate campaign, he has expressed his support for the 2nd Amendment and described himself as a gun owner.[53] His campaign disagreed with the D rating and has responded that Bredesen "agrees with 80-plus percent of NRA's positions [but] differs, for example, by supporting gun show background checks."[53] In the wake of the February 2018Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Bredesen called for universal background checks for gun purchases (including those made at gun shows), tighter checks for mental illness, and a ban on bump stocks.[53][54][55][56] As governor, he vetoed bills to allow guns in bars or restaurants that serve alcohol.[57][58][59] He also signed into law a bill allowing gun owners with handgun permits to carry their firearms in public parks.[60] In 2009, Bredesen said he would not veto a bill exempting certain firearms from federal regulations, allowing the bill to become law without his signature, but he had vetoed a similar bill earlier (his veto was overridden).[61]
Regarding immigration issues, Bredesen has taken positions that are commonly associated with both parties. In 2004, Bredesen introduced a bill to "end the practice of issuing state drivers' licenses to undocumented persons."[62] He supportsDACA for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children.[51]
In October 2018, Bredesen broke with the Democratic Party and endorsed the confirmation of Trump's second Supreme Court nominee,Brett Kavanaugh. The endorsement came the day before the final confirmation vote on the nomination.[63]
On fiscal issues, Bredesen leans conservative. He ran for governor opposing the state income tax and as governor made cuts to the state's government health care plan due to its financial trouble. Bredesen opposed the Republican Party's 2017 tax reform, saying it provided "crumbs" to the middle class.[64] As governor, he proposed increasing taxes on cigarettes.[65] In 2007, he expressed uncertainty about theBush tax cuts stating they would not help everyone.[66] He also sought to eliminate the grocery tax break arguing that funding was needed for the state's budget.[67] He did not raise the sales tax and opposed raising taxes on gas, but did support increasing a tax on cable services.[68] He supports an increase in the minimum wage.[51]
Bredesen married Susan Cleaves in 1968. They divorced in 1974 and had no children.[8] Later that year, he marriedAndrea Conte inWheatley, Oxfordshire,England. The two have one son, Ben. He identifies his faith asPresbyterian.[69][70]
As of 2018, Bredesen's net worth was estimated to be between $88.9 million and $358 million.[71]
Bredesen is a founding member of the nonprofit Nashville's Table and he served on the board of theFrist Center.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Don Sundquist | 807,104 | 54.27% | ||
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 664,252 | 44.67% | ||
| Independent | Stephanie E. Holt | 9,981 | 0.67% | ||
| Independent | Will Smith | 3,365 | 0.23% | ||
| Independent | Charlie Moffett | 2,347 | 0.16% | ||
| N/A | Write-ins | 81 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 1,487,130 | 100% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 426,418 | 79.05 | |
| Democratic | Randy Nichols | 38,322 | 7.10 | |
| Democratic | Charles E. Smith | 34,547 | 6.40 | |
| Democratic | Charles V. Brown | 17,506 | 3.25 | |
| Democratic | L. Best | 16,007 | 2.97 | |
| Democratic | Floyd R. Conover | 6,218 | 1.15 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 420 | 0.08 | |
| Total votes | 539,438 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 837,284 | 50.65% | +21.17% | |
| Republican | Van Hilleary | 786,803 | 47.59% | −21.03% | |
| Independent | Edwin C. Sanders | 7,749 | 0.47% | ||
| Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 5,308 | 0.32% | ||
| Independent | John Jay Hooker | 4,577 | 0.28% | ||
| Independent | David Gatchell | 2,991 | 0.18% | ||
| Independent | Gabriel Givens | 1,591 | 0.10% | ||
| Independent | Ray Ledford | 1,589 | 0.10% | ||
| Independent | James E. Herren | 1,210 | 0.07% | ||
| Independent | Charles V. Wilhoit, Jr. | 898 | 0.05% | ||
| Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 645 | 0.04% | ||
| Independent | Francis E. Waldron | 635 | 0.04% | ||
| Independent | Ronny Simmons | 630 | 0.04% | ||
| Independent | Robert O. Watson | 579 | 0.04% | ||
| Independent | Basil Marceaux | 302 | 0.02% | ||
| Write-ins | 376 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 50,481 | 3.05% | −36.10% | ||
| Turnout | 1,653,167 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen (incumbent) | 393,004 | 88.50 | |
| Democratic | John Jay Hooker | 31,933 | 7.19 | |
| Democratic | Tim Sevier | 11,562 | 2.60 | |
| Democratic | Walt Ward | 7,555 | 1.70 | |
| Total votes | 444,054 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen (incumbent) | 1,247,491 | 68.60% | +17.95% | |
| Republican | Jim Bryson | 540,853 | 29.74% | −17.85% | |
| Independent | Carl Two Feathers Whitaker | 11,374 | 0.63% | ||
| Independent | George Banks | 7,531 | 0.41% | ||
| Independent | Charles E. Smith | 4,083 | 0.22% | ||
| Independent | Howard W. Switzer | 2,711 | 0.15% | ||
| Independent | David Gatchell | 2,385 | 0.13% | ||
| Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 2,114 | 0.12% | ||
| Write-ins | 7 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 706,638 | 38.86% | +35.80% | ||
| Turnout | 1,818,549 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 349,718 | 91.51% | |
| Democratic | Gary Davis | 20,170 | 5.28% | |
| Democratic | John Wolfe Jr. | 12,269 | 3.21% | |
| Total votes | 382,157 | 100% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn | 1,227,483 | 54.71% | −10.18% | |
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen | 985,450 | 43.92% | +13.51% | |
| Independent | Trudy Austin | 9,455 | 0.42% | N/A | |
| Independent | Dean Hill | 8,717 | 0.39% | N/A | |
| Independent | Kris L. Todd | 5,084 | 0.23% | N/A | |
| Independent | John Carico | 3,398 | 0.15% | N/A | |
| Independent | Breton Phillips | 2,226 | 0.10% | N/A | |
| Independent | Kevin Lee McCants | 1,927 | 0.09% | N/A | |
| Total votes | '2,243,740' | '100%' | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Nashville 1991–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Tennessee 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Jay Hooker | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Tennessee 2002,2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Mark Clayton | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from Tennessee (Class 1) 2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Within Tennessee | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Tennessee | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
