Elections in Tennessee |
---|
Government |
Elections in Tennessee are held to fill various local, state, and federal seats. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Statewide legislative referrals and referendums may also be on the ballot in some elections. Tennessee is one of thirteen states that holds its presidential primaries on Super Tuesday. [1]
Tennessee does not require voters to declare a party affiliation when registering. The state is one of eight states that require voters to present a form of photo identification. [2] In a 2020 study, Tennessee was ranked as the 5th hardest state for citizens to vote in. [3]
Between the end of the Civil War and the mid-20th century, Tennessee was part of the Democratic Solid South, but had the largest Republican minority of any former Confederate state. [4] During this time, East Tennessee was heavily Republican and the western two thirds mostly voted Democratic, with the latter dominating the state. [5] This division was related to the state's pattern of Unionist and Confederate loyalism during the Civil War. [5]
Tennessee's politics are currently dominated by the Republican Party. [6] [7] Republicans currently hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats, a majority of Congressional seats, and the state legislature. Democratic strength is largely concentrated in Nashville, Memphis, and parts of Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Clarksville. Several suburban areas of Nashville and Memphis also contain significant Democratic minorities.
List of presidential elections in Tennessee from 1836-present.
Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2024 | 1,966,865 | 64.19% | 1,056,265 | 34.47% | 40,812 | 1.33% |
2020 | 1,852,475 | 60.66% | 1,143,711 | 37.45% | 57,665 | 1.89% |
2016 | 1,522,925 | 60.72% | 870,695 | 34.72% | 114,407 | 4.56% |
2012 | 1,462,330 | 59.42% | 960,709 | 39.04% | 37,865 | 1.54% |
2008 | 1,479,178 | 56.85% | 1,087,437 | 41.79% | 35,367 | 1.36% |
2004 | 1,383,336 | 56.81% | 1,035,160 | 42.51% | 16,453 | 0.68% |
2000 | 1,061,949 | 51.15% | 981,720 | 47.28% | 32,512 | 1.57% |
1996 | 863,530 | 45.59% | 909,146 | 48.00% | 121,429 | 6.41% |
1992 | 841,300 | 42.43% | 933,521 | 47.08% | 207,817 | 10.48% |
1988 | 947,233 | 57.89% | 679,794 | 41.55% | 9,223 | 0.56% |
1984 | 990,212 | 57.84% | 711,714 | 41.57% | 10,067 | 0.59% |
1980 | 787,761 | 48.70% | 783,051 | 48.41% | 46,804 | 2.89% |
1976 | 633,969 | 42.94% | 825,879 | 55.94% | 16,498 | 1.12% |
1972 | 813,147 | 67.70% | 357,293 | 29.75% | 30,742 | 2.56% |
1968 | 472,592 | 37.85% | 351,233 | 28.13% | 424,792 | 34.02% |
1964 | 508,965 | 44.49% | 634,947 | 55.50% | 34 | 0.00% |
1960 | 556,577 | 52.92% | 481,453 | 45.77% | 13,762 | 1.31% |
1956 | 462,288 | 49.21% | 456,507 | 48.60% | 20,609 | 2.19% |
1952 | 446,147 | 49.99% | 443,710 | 49.71% | 2,696 | 0.30% |
1948 | 202,914 | 36.87% | 270,402 | 49.14% | 76,967 | 13.99% |
1944 | 200,311 | 39.22% | 308,707 | 60.45% | 1,674 | 0.33% |
1940 | 169,153 | 32.35% | 351,601 | 67.25% | 2,069 | 0.40% |
1936 | 146,520 | 30.81% | 327,083 | 68.78% | 1,935 | 0.41% |
1932 | 126,752 | 32.48% | 259,473 | 66.49% | 4,031 | 1.03% |
1928 | 195,388 | 53.76% | 167,343 | 46.04% | 742 | 0.20% |
1924 | 130,728 | 43.54% | 158,682 | 52.86% | 10,810 | 3.60% |
1920 | 219,829 | 51.29% | 206,558 | 48.19% | 2,239 | 0.52% |
1916 | 116,223 | 42.70% | 153,280 | 56.31% | 2,687 | 0.99% |
1912 | 60,475 | 24.00% | 133,021 | 52.80% | 58,437 | 23.20% |
1908 | 117,977 | 45.87% | 135,608 | 52.73% | 3,595 | 1.40% |
1904 | 105,363 | 43.40% | 131,653 | 54.23% | 5,734 | 2.36% |
1900 | 123,108 | 44.95% | 145,240 | 53.03% | 5,512 | 2.01% |
1896 | 148,683 | 46.33% | 167,168 | 52.09% | 5,052 | 1.57% |
1892 | 100,537 | 37.83% | 136,468 | 51.36% | 28,727 | 10.81% |
1888 | 138,978 | 45.76% | 158,699 | 52.26% | 6,017 | 1.98% |
1884 | 124,101 | 47.74% | 133,770 | 51.45% | 2,107 | 0.81% |
1880 | 107,677 | 44.26% | 129,569 | 53.26% | 6,017 | 2.47% |
1876 | 89,566 | 40.21% | 133,177 | 59.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
1872 | 85,655 | 47.84% | 93,391 | 52.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
1868 | 56,628 | 68.43% | 26,129 | 31.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
1864 | 30,000 | 85.71% | 5,000 | 14.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
1860 | 0 | 0.00% | 11,281 | 7.72% | 134,825 | 92.28% |
1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 69,704 | 52.18% | 63,878 | 47.82% |
1852 | 58,586 | 50.73% | 56,900 | 49.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
1848 | 64,321 | 52.52% | 58,142 | 47.48% | 0 | 0.00% |
1844 | 60,040 | 50.05% | 59,917 | 49.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
1840 | 60,194 | 55.66% | 47,951 | 44.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
1836 | 36,027 | 57.92% | 26,170 | 42.08% | 0 | 0.00% |
List of national legislative elections in Tennessee from 2000-present.
List of gubernatorial elections in Tennessee from 2002-present.
Nashville Mayoral elections
Nashville measures
Countywide elections
Chattanooga elections
Countywide elections
Knoxville elections
The 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Senator Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, retired after two terms in office. The open seat was won by Republican nominee Bob Corker, who defeated Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.
The 2006 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 7, 2006, to determine who will represent the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.
Tennessee's politics are currently dominated by the Republican Party. Republicans currently hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats, a majority of Congressional seats, and the state legislature. Democratic strength is largely concentrated in Nashville, Memphis, and parts of Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, and Jackson. Several suburban areas of Nashville and Memphis also contain significant Democratic minorities.
John Bruce "Chip" Saltsman Jr. is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001, senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and manager of Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for the Chuck Fleischmann campaign in Tennessee's 3rd district from 2009 to 2010. Saltsman also worked for Randy Boyd's unsuccessful Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign in 2018.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball, and was re-elected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.
The 2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Haslam was re-elected to a second term with 70.3% of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger Charles Brown. Improving on his performance from 2010, Haslam also carried every county in the state.
The 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Don Sundquist was term-limited and was 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 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States. The primaries were held on August 4.
The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Haslam was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Republican candidate Bill Lee was elected with 59.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate. The 2020 U.S. presidential election and elections to the U.S. House of Representatives were also held, as well as the State Senate and State House elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not run for re-election on December 17, 2018. The former United States Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty won the open seat by a large margin defeating his Democratic opponent Marquita Bradshaw.
This is a list of elections in the U.S. state of Nevada. Nevada is a swing state in state and federal elections, with margins that typically are under five percent. Unique to the state is the "None of These Candidates" voting option for all statewide and presidential and vice-presidential election ballots. This option is listed along with the names of individuals running for the position and is often described as "none of the above". The option first appeared on the Nevada ballot in 1975.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the gubernatorial election.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Lee was re-elected to a second term with 64.9% of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger Jason Martin. Lee improved on his performance from 2018.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the State of Tennessee, one from each of the state's congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. Primary elections took place on August 1, 2024.
Tennessee state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, governorship, Tennessee Senate, Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as general local elections were held on August 2, 2018.
The 2024 Tennessee House of Representatives election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect 99 seats for the Tennessee House of Representatives. The elections coincided with the Presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and State Senate elections. The primary election was held on August 1, 2024.
The 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the State of Tennessee, one from all nine of the state's congressional districts. The elections will coincide with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary election will take place on a date that has not yet been announced.
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020