Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) easily defeated Jackson beer distributor Mike McWherter (D) in the Tennessee gubernatorial race on Tuesday, claiming 65 percent of
Republicans won three Democratic seats Tuesday night to take control of the congressional delegation for the first time since 2002. The GOP captured key seats in the 4th, 6th and 8th congressional districts, giving Republicans a 7-2 advantage. Republicans also increased their leads in the State Senate and the House of Representative.
On the national front, the GOP was expected to earn 60 more seats in the House than they currently hold, while the Democrats fended off a difficult challenge to maintain a slim majority in the Senate.
In notable national races, Republican Rand Paul, a tea party favorite, handily defeated Democratic opponent Tim Conway to win the Senate seat in Kentucky, and Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, scraped by Republican Sharron Angle in Nevada.
In Lexington, Kentucky, Jim Gray became the first openly gay mayor when he won over incumbent Jim Newberry in a non-partisan election.
Key results from Tuesday's local elections:
Congressional Races
5th District: Jim Cooper (D) def. David Hall (R)
6th District: Diane Black (R) def. Brett Carter (D)
7th District: Marsha Blackburn (R) def. Greg Rabidoux (D)
8th District: Stephen Fincher (R) def. Roy Herron (D)
9th District: Steve Cohen (D) def. Charlotte Bergmann (R)
State Senateraces
7th district: Stacey Campfield (R) def. Randy Walker (D)
21st district: Douglas Henry (D) def. Steven Dickerson (R)
29th district: Ophelia Ford (D) def. Robert Hill (R) and Herman Sawyer (I)
State House Races
28th District: Tommie Brown (D) def. Teresa Wood (R)
45th District: Debra Maggert (R) def. Charles Ihrig (D)
49th District: Mike Sparks (R) def. Kent Coleman (D)
50th District: Gary Moore (D) def. David Hall (R)
51st District: Mike Turner (D) def. Charles Williamson (R)
53rd District: Janis Sontany (D) def. Tonya Miller (R)
55th District: Gary Odom (D) def. Timothy Lee (R)
59th District: Sherry Jones (D) def. Duane Dominy (R)
85th District: Johnnie Turner (D) def. Edgar Babian (R)
89th District: Jeanne Richardson (D) def. Clay Shelton (R)
93rd District: Mike Kernell (D) def. Tim Cook (R)