Ray Blanton
| Ray Blanton | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 44th Governor of Tennessee | |
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In office January 18, 1975 – January 17, 1979 |
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| Lieutenant | John S. Wilder |
| Preceded by | Winfield Dunn |
| Succeeded by | Lamar Alexander |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th district |
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In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973 |
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| Preceded by | Tom J. Murray |
| Succeeded by | Ed Jones |
| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives | |
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In office 1965–1967 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Leonard Ray Blanton April 10, 1930 Hardin County, Tennessee |
| Died | November 22, 1996 (aged 66) Jackson, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Shiloh Church Cemetery Hardin County, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Littlefield (1949–1979, divorce), Karen Flint (m. 1988) |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee (B.S.) |
| Profession | Businessman, farmer, teacher |
| Religion | Methodist |
Leonard Ray Blanton (April 10, 1930 – November 22, 1996) was an American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. He also served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1967 to 1973. Though he initiated a number of government reforms and was instrumental in bringing foreign investment to Tennessee, his term as governor was marred by scandal, namely over the selling of pardons and liquor licenses.
Blanton was born near Adamsville, Tennessee, the son of Leonard and Ova (Delaney) Blanton. He was raised in an impoverished sharecropping family with road-building interests. While working with his family's road company, he occasionally got into fights at bars in Mississippi, and was once grazed in the neck by a stray bullet. Blanton graduated from Shiloh High School in 1948, and obtained a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Tennessee in 1951. He taught school in Mooresville, Indiana, from 1951 to 1953, when he returned to Adamsville to work in the family construction business, B&B Construction.
In 1964, Blanton was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing McNairy County. He often sat in the back of the House chamber wearing sunglasses during House proceedings.
In 1966, Blanton ran for Congress, challenging 12-term incumbent and former Crump machine ally Tom J. Murray in the Democratic primary for the 7th congressional district, which was based in Jackson and included Adamsville. In a major upset, Blanton edged Murray for the nomination, winning by just 384 votes out of the nearly 70,000 votes cast. He went on to win the general election, and was twice reelected.
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