Tennessee Democrats voted overwhelmingly Saturday to retain Mary Mancini as their party's chairwoman over multiple challengers, despite crushing losses in statewide races yet again during the last election cycle.

Mancini won a third two-year term as the leader of the Tennessee Democratic Party, collecting 48 votes from the party's executive committee at a meeting in Nashville, topping Holly McCall, chairwoman of the Williamson County Democratic Party, who finished with 19 votes. A third candidate, M. LaTroy Alexandria-Williams of Memphis, finished a distant third place with two votes.

A fourth contender, party activist and former congressional candidate Christopher Hale, campaigned in recent weeks for the job, but bowed out Saturday prior to the vote.

Party soul-searching:Tennessee Democrats soul-search again after high hopes spoiled by another disappointing election

Mancini promises TNDP's best two years yet

Mancini, a progressive activist from Nashville, told fellow Democrats that she would work hard to ensure Democrats are "all together, we're all moving in the right direction, everyone is heard and everyone is understood."

Holly McCall:Wilson County Democratic Party chair to challenge Mary Mancini

"We will have the best two years of the Tennessee Democratic Party in its history," Mancini said.

She overcame a threat from McCall, a longtime Democratic operative and communications professional who, like Mancini, has ties to Nashville despite her Franklin roots.

McCall, backed by many younger Democrats, went into the vote with endorsements from the Tennessee Democratic House Caucus, more than 30 Democratic campaign staffers from the 2018 election cycle and the Tennessee AFL-CIO. She also won multiple straw polls, including one from the Davidson County Democratic Party — Mancini's home turf.

Mancini, McCall display unity after vote

McCall said those endorsements spoke to her ability to unite the party.

"Those of you who know me know I'm a relentless fighter," she said.

But Mancini proved to have far deeper allegiances among the party activists who make up the executive committee.

Following the vote, McCall embraced Mancini in a hug.

"Now is the time for all of us to come together," Mancini said after being re-elected. "And I know we will do that.

"Some of the concerns that have been brought up are not falling on deaf ears," she added, vowing to spend the next month meeting with Democrats to figure out ways to work on the party's issues.

Third candidate criticizes Mancini

There was an unexpected turn with the nomination of Alexandria-Williams — a perennial candidate from Memphis who has butted heads with the party — who broke the party's rules by directly criticizing Mancini in his remarks.

"The blind cannot continue to lead the blind," he said. "Mancini has led the organization blind."

Most Democrats were not pleased, but after some mutters in the crowd, the vote proceeded.

Hale, a 29-year-old political consultant from Rutherford County who this year lost in the Democratic primary for Tennessee's 4th Congressional District, had crisscrossed the state in recent weeks, touting a 95-county strategy to reach out to voters he said were "left behind by this party for far too long."

He told Democrats that he intends to stay active in the party.

"To the people of Tennessee, I'm not going anywhere."

Christopher Hale:Tennessee Democratic Party chairwoman draws second challenger

Democrats lost big in statewide races despite high hopes

Democrats had high hopes for the 2018 election cycle after fielding arguably their best statewide candidates in years in gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean, former Nashville mayor, and former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who ran for U.S. Senate.

But Bredesen lost to Republican Marsha Blackburn by 11 percentage points in the Senate race and Dean lost by an even greater 21 percentage points in the race for governor against Republican Bill Lee.

Mancini sought to put a positive face on events, noting a one-seat gain in the Tennessee House of Representatives, where Republicans still enjoy a supermajority. She also said Democratic candidates for state House and Senate across the state outpaced previous Democratic performances, even though they lost.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.