The 1906 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1906. Following the death of Senator William B. Bate in March 1905, governor James B. Frazier quickly convened the General Assembly and had himself elected to the vacant Senate seat. John I. Cox, who as speaker of the state senate was Frazier's constitutional successor (and who helped engineer Frazier's election in the General Assembly), then became governor. Malcolm R. Patterson narrowly defeated governor Cox for the Democratic nomination. In the general election, Patterson defeated Republican nominee Henry Clay Evans with 54.42% of the vote. Evans also ran for governor in 1894, but narrowly lost.
Former governor Robert Love Taylor, who had long aspired to a seat in the U.S. Senate, was outraged by Frazier's maneuvering to secure the vacant Senate position for himself. Taylor accused James B. Frazier, along with John I. Cox and Senator Edward W. Carmack, of conspiring to control the Democratic Party.[2]
Sensing the party's frustration with Cox over the Frazier election, Malcolm R. Patterson decided to challenge Cox for the party's nomination for governor in 1906. At the party's convention in late May, as Patterson and Cox battled for delegates, a rule change allotted Patterson all of the delegates from Davidson County, allowing him to clinch the nomination. Cox was furious, and refused to support Patterson in the general election.[2]
Patterson's Republican opponent, Henry Clay Evans, had been gerrymandered out of Congress in 1890, and had long accused state Democrats of fraudulent tactics. Patterson criticized Evans for his support of the Lodge Bill, which would have provided protections for black voters, and suggested that Evans wanted to empower the state's African-American population.[2] On election day, Patterson won with 111,876 votes to 92,804 for Evans.[2]
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