1990 Tennessee gubernatorial election

The 1990 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic governor Ned McWherter was re-elected, defeating his Republican opponent Dwight Henry, a one term member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. McWherter received 60.8% of the vote.

Aftermath

A tax study commission appointed during Ned McWherter's first term reported at the beginning of his second, recommending a state income tax be implemented. An income tax has long been considered the third rail of Tennessee politics. McWherter gave the idea lukewarm support at first, but the idea was eventually dropped entirely, not to resurface again during his time as governor.
In 1990, McWherter was invited to speak at a chapel service at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee at the request of his lifelong friend, E. Claude Gardner, then president of the university. In 1992, Senator Al Gore was elected vice president, thus creating a vacancy in the Senate. McWherter appointed his deputy governor, Harlan Matthews, to serve as U.S. Senator until the 1994 election. In 1994, McWherter was named the nation's most outstanding governor by Governing magazine.