popular fellow Democrat, Ed Jones. The merged district retained Blanton's district number, but was geographically more Jones' district. Rather than run against Jones in 1972, Blanton decided to run for the U.S. Senate. He easily won the Democratic primary, and faced the Republican incumbent, Howard Baker, in the general election. Unlike Blanton, Baker had supported the Voting Rights Act and the lowering of the voting age, helping him make inroads among two key constituencies, black voters and young voters. Baker also tied Blanton to the more liberal Democratic presidential candidate, George McGovern. On election day, Baker won in a landslide, 716,534 votes to 440,599. Governor In 1974, Blanton won a twelve-person Democratic primary for governor. With just 23% of the vote, he defeated several well-financed opponents, including flamboyant East Tennessee banker Jake Butcher, Nashville news anchor Hudley Crockett, and former Senator Ross Bass. His opponent in the general election was Lamar Alexander, who had been a campaign manager for the incumbent, Winfield Dunn (the state constitution at the time prevented governors from serving two consecutive terms, so Dunn could not run). Though Dunn and Republicans had broken the Democrats' dominance of state politics in 1970, the Republican Party was tarnished by the Watergate scandal. On election day, Blanton defeated Alexander, 576,833 votes to 455,467. Following his inauguration, Blanton called for a state income tax, but the state legislature, fearing a revolt from voters, refused to consider it, and instead raised the state sales tax. Blanton overhauled the state's excise and franchise tax laws, and revised the state's Hall income tax to provide relief for the state's elderly residents. He also elevated the state's Office of Tourism to a cabinet-level department, making Tennessee the first state in the nation to do so, and upgraded the state's retirement system. Blanton's administration was noted for extensive recruiting of foreign industrial and trade opportunities. He made several trips to Africa, the Middle East, Japan, and Europe, in an effort to form economic partnerships with foreign investors. He was criticized for the costs of these trips, but was instrumental in bringing British, West German, and Japanese investment to the state. In 1976, he hosted a meeting with several United Nations representatives in Nashville. In February 1978, the state constitution was amended to allow Blanton and future Tennessee governors to succeed themselves. Blanton did not run for reelection. His Republican opponent in 1974, Lamar Alexander, won