The Republican governor has cruised to his party's nomination for a second term, easily defeating a field of three challengers. Democrats, meanwhile, appear set to nominate an unknown candidate from Oakdale who happened to share a name with a cartoon character and appeared at the top of the ballot.
Brown, whose campaign appears to consist of a Facebook page showing him posing with three catfish, leads the four-way race for the Democratic nomination with about three-fifths of the state's precincts counted. John McKamey, a former mayor of Sullivan County and the only candidate actively campaigning for the Democratic nomination, was second.
With results still being tallied, Haslam had 88 percent of the GOP vote. Mark Coonrippy Brown, an animal control specialist from Gallatin who ran mainly to protest the state's seizure of his pet raccoon, was second with 7 percent, followed by Donald Ray McFolin, a wildlife artist from Donelson, at 3 percent and Basil Marceaux Sr., a former Marine from Soddy Daisy, at 2 percent.
Haslam has not faced a significant challenge during the Republican primary, and it would appear that he will not get much of one in the coming three months. Charlie Brown has reported raising no money for his campaign, and he has not responded to interview requests.
The only sign of a campaign has been a Facebook page on which his first name is misspelled. That page had 29 likes before last evening, as well as a few unanswered questions from voters. Its dominant feature is a profile photo of him proudly displaying his fish.
