Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam has locked up the Republican primary race for governor beating rivals Rep. Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.
Haslam will face Democratic nominee and businessman Mike McWherter in the November general election.
In a primary race that was laden with personal attacks and appeals to religion, it will be interesting to see the tone the rhetoric takes between the two nominees.
McWherter has made infrequent references to religion on the campaign trail, but has not made his religious beliefs a central and driving issue. Haslam, while vocal about his religious faith, was not as vocal as his opponent Zach Wamp.
With both nominees sucessful businessmen, the race will likely center on industry in Tennessee. However, since Haslam was considered the more moderate of the Republican candidates, he will have to solidify his support among the remainder of the conservative base. One can only hope that it doesn’t mean pandering to the evangelical Christians with baseless attacks.