The last Democrat who won a state wide race was Gov. Phil Bredesen. The reason being that he did extremely well in Republican East Tennessee. His race with Van Hilleary was characterized by a "me too" campaign in which not much distinction could be drawn between the two candidates. Towards the end of the campaign, Bredesen's promise to reform the Transportation Department and "the arrogance of TDOT" is what tipped the scales in his favor - especially in the Knoxville area.
There will be plenty of differences between Ford and whoever runs against him.
Harold Ford will do well in the Memphis and Nashville, which are traditional Democrat areas. But he will do poorly in the rural sections of Tennessee - especially in the eastern portion of the state.
No way is this guy going to win.
Bredesen defiantly broke campaign finance laws and bought the election. Van Hilleary didn't have the $$ to keep up with his cheating.
I agree. Bredesen also won because of sleezy Rhino Sunquist.