Bill Haslam

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Bill Haslam

Republican Party

Prior offices

Mayor of Knoxville

* * *

Governor of Tennessee

* * *

Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$181,980

Education

Bachelor's

Emory University, 1976

Personal

Religion

Christian: Presbyterian

Profession

Business

Contact

Personal website

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 1.1 Education
* 2 Political career
* 2.1 Governor of Tennessee (2011-2019)
* 2.1.1 Judicial appointments
* 2.1.2 Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
* 2.1.2.1 Medicaid expansion
* 2.1.3 Jobs
* 2.1.4 Local diversity ordinances
* 2.1.5 Presidential preference
* 2.2 2016 presidential endorsement
* 2.2.1 2016 presidential election
* 3 Elections
* 3.1 2018
* 3.2 2014
* 3.2.1 Results
* 3.2.1.1 Primary election
* 3.2.1.2 General election
* 3.3 2010
* 4 Campaign donors
* 4.1 2010–2014
* 5 2016 Republican National Convention
* 6 Personal
* 7 Recent news
* 8 See also
* 9 External links
* 10 Footnotes

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[edit]

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[edit]

* B.A., Emory University (1976)[1]

## Political career[edit]

### Governor of Tennessee (2011-2019)[edit]

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[edit]

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.

See also: Tennessee Judicial Selection, Amendment 2 (2014)

#### Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

See also: Preemption conflicts between state and local governments

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[edit]

### 2016 presidential endorsement[edit]

✓ Haslam endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[11]

See also: Endorsements for Marco Rubio
2016 Presidential Endorsements by Governors

Governor  |  Candidate  |  Date  |  Source
Alejandro J. García Padilla |  Hillary Clinton |  June 2016  |  The Associated Press
Jerry Brown |  Hillary Clinton |  May 2016  |  Reuters.com
Pete Ricketts |  Donald Trump |  May 2016  |  The Washington Post
Mike Pence |  Donald Trump |  May 2016  |  Tribune Star
Phil Bryant |  Donald Trump |  May 2016  |  Politico
Rick Scott |  Donald Trump |  March 2016  |  NBC News
Mary Fallin |  Donald Trump |  May 2016  |  The Washington Times
Brian Sandoval |  John Kasich (primary)  |  April 2016  |  CNN
Scott Walker |  Ted Cruz |  March 2016  |  Politico
Gary R. Herbert |  Ted Cruz (primary) |  March 2016  |  The Hill
Susana Martinez |  Marco Rubio (primary) |  March 2016  |  Politico
Paul LePage |  Donald Trump |  February 2016  |  Politico
Chris Christie |  Donald Trump |  February 2016  |  CNN
Butch Otter |  John Kasich |  February 2016  |  CNN
Greg Abbott |  Ted Cruz |  February 2016  |  CNN
Asa Hutchinson |  Marco Rubio |  February 2016  |  CNN
Nikki Haley |  Marco Rubio |  February 2016  |  CNN
Sam Brownback |  Marco Rubio |  February 2016  |  CBS News
Jay Inslee |  Hillary Clinton |  November 2015  |  Seattle Times
Jay Nixon |  Hillary Clinton |  November 2015  |  KBIA Mid-Missouri Public Radio
Jack Markell |  Hillary Clinton |  October 2015  |  delawareonline
John Hickenlooper |  Hillary Clinton |  October 2015  |  Denver Post
Maggie Hassan |  Hillary Clinton |  September, 2015  |  Patch
Mark Dayton |  Hillary Clinton |  November 2013  |  Politics Minnesota
Andrew Cuomo |  Hillary Clinton |  April 2015  |  New York Observer
Larry Hogan |  Chris Christie |  July 2015  |  The Washington Times
Peter Shumlin |  Hillary Clinton |  May 2015  |  The Hill
Terry McAuliffe |  Hillary Clinton |  April 2015  |  The Washington Post
Tom Wolf |  Hillary Clinton |  June 2015  |  Twitter
Dan Malloy |  Hillary Clinton |  June 2015  |  Hartford Courant

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Bill Haslam endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[12]

#### 2016 presidential election[edit]

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[edit]

### 2018[edit]

See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2018

Bill Haslam was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

### 2014[edit]

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[edit]

##### Primary election[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2010 and Gubernatorial elections, 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 donors[edit]

* * *

The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent 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, and 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.

* * *

Bill Haslam campaign contribution history

Year | Office | Result | Contributions
2014 | Governor of Tennessee |  | $6,200,081
2010 | Governor of Tennessee |  | $17,840,588
Grand total raised | $24,040,669
Source: [[17] Follow the Money]

### 2010–2014[edit]

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Bill Haslam.[18] Click [show] for more information.

Bill Haslam Campaign Contributions

| 2014
Governor of Tennessee| 2010
Governor of Tennessee
Total raised | $6,200,081| $17,840,588
Total raised by opponents | $13,865 (Constitution)
Top 5 contributors | Tennessee Republican Party| $150,000| Bill Haslam| $3,090,000
Haslam Inaugural Cmte 2011 (Reimb)| $26,089| Tennessee Legislative Campaign Committee| $425,175
AT&T| $22,400| Bill Haslam| $410,000
Community Health Systems| $22,400| King Pharmaceuticals| $17,500
Corrections Corp of American| $22,400| Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists| $15,000
Individuals | $4,793,368| $12,232,840
Institutions | $1,348,574 ($58,138 other)| $1,338,904
In-state donations | $5,583,745| $13,061,572
Out-of-state donations | $596,336 ($20,000 unknown)| $1,444,904

## 2016 Republican National Convention[edit]

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

Haslam was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Tennessee.

## Personal[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Bill Haslam - Google News

## See also[edit]

Tennessee | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis

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Tennessee State Executive Offices Tennessee State Legislature Tennessee Courts |  2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Tennessee elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 |  Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

## External links[edit]

|  Suggest a link

|

* Office of the Governor of Tennessee

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 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. ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York Times, "Tennessee Election Results," December 17, 2014
3. ↑ New York Times, "2010 Tennessee election results," accessed June 11, 2021
4. ↑ Office of the Governor of Tennessee, "Bill's Priorities," accessed June 11, 2021
5. ↑ The Associated Press, "New Jersey Gov. Christie vetoes state-run health exchange bill," December 6, 2012
6. ↑ The New York Times, "Most states miss deadline to set up health exchange," December 14, 2012
7. ↑ Bill Dries, Memphis Daily News, "Haslam’s Medicaid Option Fuels Debate," March 29, 2013
8. ↑ The Business Journals, "Governors and jobs: How governors rank for job creation in their states," June 27, 2013
9. ↑ The Business Journals, "How state governors rank on their job-growth record," June 27, 2013
10. ↑ "Haslam Defends Decision to Sign Bill Preempting Local Diversity Ordinances," Tennessee Report, by Mike Morrow, May 25, 2011
11. ↑ Tennessean "Bill Haslam, Bill Frist endorse Marco Rubio," February 25, 2016
12. ↑ Nashville Post, "Romney endorses Haslam" July 15, 2010
13. ↑ WBIR, "Bill Haslam: Donald Trump needs to step aside for Mike Pence,'" October 9, 2016
14. ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005," October 8, 2016
15. ↑ "Gov-elect Haslam meets with Bredesen at Capitol," Associated Press, November 3, 2010
16. ↑ Tennessee Department of State, "Unofficial Election Results November 2, 2010," accessed November 15, 2010 and December 23, 2010
17. ↑ Follow the Money, " Career fundraising for Bill Haslam," accessed July 13, 2015
18. ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Home," accessed May 7, 2021

Political offices

Preceded by
Phil Bredesen (D) | Governor of Tennessee
2011-2019  |  Succeeded by
Bill Lee (R)

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