| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Tennessee |
|---|
 |
 Government |
The 1839 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 1, 1839, to elect the next governor of Tennessee Incumbent Governor Newton Cannon lost re-election to a third term against Democratic candidate and former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and future president the United States James K. Polk. [1]
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. [2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James K. Polk | 54,062 | 51.27 | |
| Whig | Newton Cannon (incumbent) | 51,387 | 48.73 | |
| Total votes | 105,449 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic gain from Whig | ||||
James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He also served as the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839 and the ninth governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841. A protégé of Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate of Jacksonian democracy. Polk is known for extending the territory of the United States through the Mexican–American War during his presidency, annexing the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the Mexican Cession after winning the Mexican–American War.
Polk County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 17,544. Its county seat is Benton. The county was created on November 28, 1839, from parts of Bradley and McMinn counties, after final removal of most Cherokee from the region that year. The county was named after then-governor James K. Polk. Polk County is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Area Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton, TN–GA–AL Combined Statistical Area.
John Bell was an American politician, attorney, and planter who was a candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1860.
Newton Cannon was an American politician who served as the eighth Governor of Tennessee from 1835 to 1839. He also served several terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1814 to 1817, and from 1819 to 1823. Cannon was a long-time foe of Andrew Jackson, and spent much of his political career opposing Jacksonite policies. Cannon was succeeded as Governor of Tennessee by James K. Polk in 1839, who later became President of the United States.
William Trousdale was an American soldier and politician. He served as the 13th governor of Tennessee from 1849 to 1851, and was United States Minister to Brazil from 1853 to 1857. He fought under Andrew Jackson in the Creek War, the War of 1812 and the Second Seminole War, and commanded the U.S. Fourteenth Infantry in the Mexican–American War. His military exploits earned him the nickname, "War Horse of Sumner County."
James Chamberlain Jones was an American politician who served as the tenth governor of Tennessee from 1841 to 1845, and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1851 to 1857. A Whig, Jones twice defeated future U.S. President James K. Polk for the governorship, in 1841 and 1843. He was the first native-born Tennessean to be elected governor of the state.
Aaron Venable Brown was an American politician. He served as the 11th Governor of Tennessee from 1845 to 1847, and as United States Postmaster General from 1857 until his death in 1859. He also served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1839 to 1845. During the Mexican–American War, Brown's statewide call for 2,800 volunteers was answered by over 30,000, helping solidify the state's reputation as the "Volunteer State."
William Hawkins Polk was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 6th congressional district from 1851 to 1853. He was the younger brother of President James K. Polk. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1841–1845), served as U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1845–1847), and fought as a major in the Mexican–American War.
Landon Carter Haynes was an American politician who served as a Confederate States senator from Tennessee from 1862 to 1865. He also served several terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, including one term as speaker (1849–1851). In the early 1840s, Haynes worked as editor of the Jonesborough-based newspaper, Tennessee Sentinel, garnering regional fame for his frequent clashes with rival editor, William "Parson" Brownlow.
The 1848 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from Monday May 22 to Friday May 26 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice president in the 1848 election. The convention selected Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan for President and former Representative William O. Butler of Kentucky for Vice President.
The 1844–45 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with James K. Polk's election. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1844 and 1845, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the general election including the 2012 U.S. presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker won a second term in a landslide, carrying all but two counties in the state.
The 1844 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place between November 1 and December 4, 1844, as part of the 1844 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.
The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. The incumbent, Don Sundquist, was term-limited and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. To succeed him, former Democratic Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, who had run against Sundquist in 1994, narrowly defeated Republican United States Congressman Van Hilleary in the general election.
The 1844 presidential campaign of James K. Polk, then both the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives and governor of Tennessee, was announced on May 27, 1844 in Baltimore, Maryland, however Polk had originally sought the vice-presidential nomination. At the 1844 Democratic National Convention on May 27, seven ballots were held before Polk was proposed as a compromise candidate and won on the ninth ballot.
The 1970 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Governor Buford Ellington was term-limited and was prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking another term. Republican nominee Winfield Dunn, defeated Democratic opponent John Jay Hooker with 52.0% of the vote.
The 1841 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 5, 1841, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Governor James K. Polk lost re-election against Whig nominee James C. Jones, thus becoming the first native-born Tennessean to be elected governor of the state.
The 1843 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 3, 1843, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Whig Governor James C. Jones won re-election against Democratic nominee and former Governor James K. Polk in a rematch of the previous election.
The 1835 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on August 6, 1835, to elect the Governor of Tennessee. Whig nominee, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th district and candidate for Governor in 1827 Newton Cannon defeated Democratic nominee and incumbent Governor William Carroll and incumbent member of the Tennessee House of Representatives West Hughes Humphreys.
