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Bill Haslam, the mayor of Knoxville and considered a moderate Republican, easily won the Tennessee GOP primary for governor Thursday, the Tennessee Department of State's website reported.

With all of the state's precincts reporting Haslam had 47.5 percent of the vote as he defeated Congressman Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

Halsam, who helped fund some of his own campaign, will now face Mike McWherter, a Democratic businessman and son of a former governor. The race is to succeed Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, who is prevented by term limits from running for a third term. Political handicappers think Republicans have a good shot at winning back the governor's office.

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The race grabbed national attention last month because of controversial comments by two of the challengers.

Congressman Zach Wamp appeared to suggest that Tennessee should consider secession in light of mandates forced on the states by the Obama administration's health care bill. The eight-term congressman later stepped back from those comments.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey also drew attention to himself last month after he was seen in a YouTube video questioning whether Islam is a religion. He was expressing his opposition to the expansion of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which has become a hot-button issue in the city about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.

Ramsey, who has been endorsed by 20 Tea Party organizations, said he is a supporter of religious freedoms, but such protections may not extend to bringing "Shariah [Islamic] law into the state of Tennessee ... into the United States."

"Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, a cult, whatever you want to call it," he continued. "But certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time, this is something we are going to have to face."

Following criticism, Ramsey defended his comments, saying, "My concern is that far too much of Islam has come to resemble a violent political philosophy more than peace-loving religion."

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