1958 Tennessee gubernatorial election

1958 Tennessee gubernatorial election
	County results; Ellington: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; McCord: 40–50% 50–60%
Governor before election; Frank G. Clement; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Buford Ellington; Democratic

The 1958 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1958, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Frank G. Clement was ineligible to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Tennessee prohibited governors from serving consecutive terms at the time. Democratic nominee Buford Ellington defeated former governor, Independent Jim Nance McCord, and Republican opponent Tom Wall with 57.5% of the vote.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 7, 1958.^[1]

33.2% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.^[2]

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buford Ellington	213,415	31.14%
	Democratic	Andrew T. "Tip" Taylor	204,629	29.86%
	Democratic	Edmund Orgill	204,382	29.82%
	Democratic	Clifford Allen	56,854	8.30%
	Democratic	Jake Armstrong	2,936	0.43%
	Democratic	John Hickey	1,495	0.22%
	Democratic	G. Edward Friar	1,487	0.22%
	Democratic	Edward Brown	93	0.01%
Total votes			685,291	100.00%

1.5% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary.^[2]

Major party candidates

Other candidates

1958 Tennessee gubernatorial election^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Buford Ellington	248,874	57.54%
	Independent	Jim Nance McCord	136,406	31.54%
	Republican	Tom Wall	35,938	8.31%
	Independent	Allen Bell	3,024	0.70%
	Independent	Thomas E. Cook	2,673	0.62%
	Independent	Herbert P. Moore	1,923	0.45%
	Independent	Paul David Warwick	1,639	0.38%
	Independent	Lee R. Foster	1,605	0.37%
	Independent	John Randolph Neal Jr.	453	0.11%
			17	0.00%
Majority			212,936
Turnout			432,545
	Democratic hold		Swing

Steed, Robert; Moreland, Laurence; Baker, Tod, eds. (1980). Party Politics in the South. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0030565863.