Bill Haslam
William Edward "Bill" Haslam (born August 23, 1958, in Knoxville, Tennessee) was the Republican Governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. He was first elected governor in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014.[1][2]
Biography
Haslam was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he attended school through high school. He attended Emory University as an undergraduate, where he joined Sigma Chi fraternity and Young Life ministry.
Haslam returned to Knoxville after college to join his family's petroleum business, Pilot Corporation.[1] He eventually became president of the company before leaving to become mayor of Knoxville.
Haslam was elected mayor of Knoxville in a nonpartisan election, though he was registered as a Republican. As mayor, much of his work focused on policies surrounding historic structures. Former President George W. Bush (R) named Haslam to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2008. Haslam served on the council until 2012.[1] When he was mayor of Knoxville, Haslam was also a partial owner of the Tennessee Smokies, a minor league baseball affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.[1]
Haslam was re-elected mayor in 2007 with 87 percent of the vote and served until 2011, when he resigned to take office as governor.[1]
Education
- B.A., Emory University (1976)[1]
Political career
Governor of Tennessee (2011-2019)
Haslam was first elected governor of Tennessee in 2010.[3]
On his official website, Haslam listed his priorities as governor as jobs and economic development, education and workforce development, and conservative fiscal leadership.[4]
Judicial appointments
As governor, Haslam was responsible for appointing judges to the state appellate courts—the supreme court, court of appeals and court of criminal appeals. He was also responsible for filling midterm vacancies on the state's trial courts. In Tennessee, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints an appellate judge, she or he must run for retention in the next general election. Trial court judges face partisan elections. For a list of all of Haslam's appointees, see Judges appointed by Bill Haslam.
The role of the governor in selecting judges was the subject of public discussion in Tennessee in 2014. A constitutional amendment requiring confirmation of judicial appointments by the Tennessee State Legislature was approved on November 4, 2014. Haslam was among the state officials supporting the amendment, following votes in the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee State Senate to advance the amendment to the ballot.
Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
In December 2012, Haslam entered Tennessee into the federal exchange program created under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. He argued that the Obama administration had not addressed various operational questions and concerns Tennessee officials had posed regarding the alternative state-level exchange option. Along with Republican governors such as Chris Christie (NJ), Bob McDonnell (VA), and Tom Corbett (PA), Haslam's primary concern was with the potential cost of independent implementation, and the extent to which the federal government would override aspects of a hypothetical state-managed exchange.[5]
Haslam and state lawmakers did not find consensus on an alternative by the December 14, 2012, deadline. Thus, Tennessee entered the federal program by default. Tennessee was one of 32 states to opt out of a state-based program.[6]
Medicaid expansion
On March 27, 2013, Haslam announced that Tennessee would not expand its Medicaid coverage to include everyone up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line under the terms of a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would have provided federal funding at a rate of 100 percent for the first three years and no less than 90 percent afterward. Instead, the governor said that he would focus on expanding TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, by using federal funds to allow eligible Tennesseans to purchase health insurance through the federal healthcare exchange. As in his previous decision to not establish a state health insurance exchange, Haslam cited a lack of detailed answers about the proposed expansion from the federal government and his disagreements with some of the conditions that would have come with the funding, particularly extra regulations which he argued would have made it difficult for the state to use the Medicaid expansion funds to purchase private insurance for new members.[7]
Jobs
A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Haslam was ranked number 4. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.[8][9]
Local diversity ordinances
Gov. Haslam signed into law on May 23, 2011 legislation that overturned an anti-discrimination law passed by Nashville’s Metro Council. However, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry reportedly backtracked on the bill. “I don’t really like the state government telling local governments what to do, but I don’t really feel like local governments should tell businesses what to do either,” Haslam said the day after he signed the law. “In this case, we were going beyond what the federal requirements were, and I don’t think many Tennesseans feel like we don’t have enough mandates on businesses from the federal government.”
Haslam signed the bill, HB600/SB632, which prohibited local governments from implementing anti-discrimination practices which diverge from existing laws.
The Metro Council in Davidson County passed an ordinance that said contractors with the city had to follow Metro policies against discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity. “We are not in favor of discrimination. I want to be real clear about that,” Haslam said. “We are in favor of businesses deciding within federal laws what their policy should be. We just don’t think local governments should set HR policies for businesses.”[10]
Presidential preference
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ Haslam endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[11]
- See also: Endorsements for Marco Rubio
2012
Bill Haslam endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[12]
2016 presidential election
On October 8, 2016, after The Washington Post released a 2005 video of Donald Trump making comments about women that the Post described as "extremely lewd," Haslam called on Trump to step aside as the 2016 Republican nominee for president.[13][14]
- See also: Republican reactions to 2005 Trump tape
Elections
2018
- See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2018
Bill Haslam was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2014
- See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2014
Haslam ran for re-election as Governor of Tennessee in 2014. He won renomination in the Republican primary on August 7. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.[2]
Results
Primary election
| Tennessee Gubernatorial Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Bill Haslam |
87.7% | 570,997 | ||
| Mark "Coonrippy" Brown | 6.8% | 44,165 | ||
| Donald Ray McFolin | 3.5% | 22,968 | ||
| Basil Marceaux, Sr. | 2% | 13,117 | ||
| Total Votes | 651,247 | |||
| Election results via Tennessee Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Governor of Tennessee, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Bill Haslam Incumbent |
70.3% | 951,796 | |
| Democratic | Charles V. "Charlie" Brown | 22.8% | 309,237 | |
| Independent | John Jay Hooker | 2.3% | 30,579 | |
| Constitution | Shaun Crowell | 2% | 26,580 | |
| Green | Isa Infante | 1.4% | 18,570 | |
| Independent | Steve Coburn | 0.6% | 8,612 | |
| Independent | Daniel Lewis | 0.6% | 8,321 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0% | 33 | |
| Total Votes | 1,353,728 | |||
| Election results via Tennessee Secretary of State | ||||
2010
Haslam defeated four opponents in the August 5 primary. He won with 47.5 percent of the vote.
He faced Mike McWherter (D), Howard Switzer (G) and 13 independent candidates in the general election on November 2, 2010, defeating them.[15][16]
| Governor of Tennessee, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Bill Haslam |
65% | 1,041,545 | |
| Democratic | Mike McWherter | 33.1% | 529,851 | |
| Independent | Carl Twofeathers Whitaker | 0.4% | 6,536 | |
| Independent | Brandon Dodds | 0.3% | 4,728 | |
| Independent | Bayron Binkley | 0.3% | 4,663 | |
| Independent | June Griffin | 0.2% | 2,587 | |
| Independent | Linda K. Perry | 0.1% | 2,057 | |
| Green | Howard Switzer | 0.1% | 1,887 | |
| Independent | Samuel D. Duck | 0.1% | 1,755 | |
| Independent | Thomas Smith, II | 0.1% | 1,207 | |
| Independent | Toni K. Hall | 0.1% | 993 | |
| Independent | David Gatchell | 0.1% | 859 | |
| Independent | Boyce T. McCall | 0.1% | 828 | |
| Independent | James Reesor | 0.1% | 809 | |
| Independent | Mike Knois | 0% | 600 | |
| Independent | Donald R. McFolin | 0% | 583 | |
| Write-In | Various | 0% | 61 | |
| Total Votes | 1,601,549 | |||
| Election results via U.S. Election Atlas | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Haslam was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Tennessee.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Haslam married his wife, Crissy, in 1981. Together they had two daughters and one son.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bill Haslam Tennessee Governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Tennessee | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Governor of Tennessee, "About Bill Haslam," accessed June 15, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York Times, "Tennessee Election Results," December 17, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "2010 Tennessee election results," accessed June 11, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Tennessee, "Bill's Priorities," accessed June 11, 2021
- ↑ The Associated Press, "New Jersey Gov. Christie vetoes state-run health exchange bill," December 6, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Most states miss deadline to set up health exchange," December 14, 2012
- ↑ Bill Dries, Memphis Daily News, "Haslam’s Medicaid Option Fuels Debate," March 29, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "Governors and jobs: How governors rank for job creation in their states," June 27, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "How state governors rank on their job-growth record," June 27, 2013
- ↑ "Haslam Defends Decision to Sign Bill Preempting Local Diversity Ordinances," Tennessee Report, by Mike Morrow, May 25, 2011
- ↑ Tennessean "Bill Haslam, Bill Frist endorse Marco Rubio," February 25, 2016
- ↑ Nashville Post, "Romney endorses Haslam" July 15, 2010
- ↑ WBIR, "Bill Haslam: Donald Trump needs to step aside for Mike Pence,'" October 9, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005," October 8, 2016
- ↑ "Gov-elect Haslam meets with Bredesen at Capitol," Associated Press, November 3, 2010
- ↑ Tennessee Department of State, "Unofficial Election Results November 2, 2010," accessed November 15, 2010 and December 23, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Phil Bredesen (D) |
Governor of Tennessee 2011-2019 |
Succeeded by Bill Lee (R) |
 |
State of Tennessee Nashville (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
