Leonard Ray Blanton was an American businessman and 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. His term as governor was marred by scandal, namely over the selling of pardons and liquor licenses.
About Ray Blanton in brief
Leonard Ray Blanton was an American businessman and 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. His term as governor was marred by scandal, namely over the selling of pardons and liquor licenses. Blanton criticized the anti-war movement, voted against extending the Voting Rights Act, and opposed lowering the voting age to 18. His administration was noted for recruiting foreign industrial and trade opportunities. He was criticized for the costs of these trips, but was instrumental in bringing British, West German and Japanese investment to the state. He did not run for reelection in 1979, and was not re-elected to the Senate in 1980. He died in a car crash in Tennessee in 1991. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. He had a son and a daughter-in-law, both of whom have died in the last few years of their lives, and one of whom is still living in the same house he grew up in in Adamsville, Tennessee.
The Blanton family is still active in the construction industry, and has a business called B&B Construction, which is based in the town of Adamsville. He served as a member of the Tennessee House of Reps. from 1964 to 1973, representing McNairy County. 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. He won by just 384 votes out of the nearly 70,000 votes cast, and went on to win the general election. In 1972, he decided to run for U. S. Senate. He easily won the DemocraticPrimary, and faced the Republican incumbent, Howard Baker, in a landslide, 716,534 votes to 440,599. In 1976, he hosted a meeting with several United Nations representatives in Nashville to allow Tennessee to allow future governors to succeed themselves.
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This page is based on the article Ray Blanton published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 11, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
