1839 Tennessee gubernatorial election

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1839 Tennessee gubernatorial election
  1837 August 1, 1839 1841  
  JamesKnoxPolk.png Cannon-newton-by-wb-cooper.jpg
Nominee James K. Polk Newton Cannon
Party Democratic Whig
Popular vote54,06251,387
Percentage51.27%48.73%

1839 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Polk:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Cannon:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
     No data/No votes

Governor before election

Newton Cannon
Whig

Elected Governor

James K. Polk
Democratic

The 1839 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 1, 1839, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Whig Governor Newton Cannon lost re-election to a third term against Democratic nominee and former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives James K. Polk. [1]

Contents

Background

Democrats, determined to defeat governor Cannon, convinced rising politician and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives James K. Polk to run against him. The two candidates toured the state together to give a series of public debates, the first of which took place at Murfreesboro on April 11, 1839. Cannon typically delivered slower, more methodical arguments and was outshone in the debates by the quicker and wittier Polk. In the election, Polk narrowly defeated Cannon. [2]

General election

On election day, 1 August 1839, Democratic nominee James K. Polk won the election by a margin of 2,675 votes against his Whig opponent and incumbent Governor Newton Cannon, thereby gaining Democratic control over the office of Governor. Polk was sworn in as the 9th Governor of Tennessee on 14 October 1839. [3]

Results

Tennessee gubernatorial election, 1839
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James K. Polk 54,062 51.27%
Whig Newton Cannon (incumbent)51,38748.73%
Total votes105,449 100.00%
Democratic gain from Whig

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References

  1. "Gov. James Knox Polk". nga.org. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 59, 72-73, 81-84, 93-95.
  3. "TN Governor". ourcampaigns.com. 7 June 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2023.