United States presidential elections in Tennessee

Presidential elections in Tennessee

Number of elections	57
Voted Democratic	25
Voted Republican	19
Voted Whig	5
Voted Democratic-Republican	7
Voted other	1 [a]
Voted for winning candidate	37
Voted for losing candidate	18

Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Tennessee, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1796, Tennessee has participated in every U.S. presidential election except the election of 1864, during the American Civil War. At that time, Tennessee was controlled by the Union and held elections, but electors were not ultimately counted.

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. ^[1] During this time, East Tennessee was heavily Republican and the western two thirds mostly voted Democratic, with the latter dominating the state. ^[2] This division was related to the state's pattern of Unionist and Confederate loyalism during the Civil War. ^[2]

Tennessee's politics are currently dominated by the Republican Party. ^{[3] [4]} 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. Some suburban areas of Nashville and Memphis also contain significant Democratic minorities.

Winners of the state are in bold. The shading refers to the state winner, and not the national winner.

Elections from 1864 to present

Year	Winner (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Other national candidates [b]	Votes	Percent	Electoral votes	Notes
2024 [5]	Donald Trump	1,966,865	64.19	Kamala Harris	1,056,265	34.47	—			11
2020 [6]	Joe Biden	1,143,711	37.45	Donald Trump	1,852,475	60.66	—			11
2016 [7]	Donald Trump [c]	1,522,925	60.72	Hillary Clinton	870,695	34.72	—			11
2012 [8]	Barack Obama	960,709	39.08	Mitt Romney	1,462,330	59.48	—			11
2008 [9]	Barack Obama	1,087,437	41.83	John McCain	1,479,178	56.90	—			11
2004 [10]	George W. Bush	1,384,375	56.80	John Kerry	1,036,477	42.53	—			11
2000 [11]	George W. Bush [c]	1,061,949	51.15	Al Gore	981,720	47.28	—			11
1996 [12]	Bill Clinton	909,146	48.00	Bob Dole	863,530	45.59	Ross Perot	105,918	5.59	11
1992	Bill Clinton	933,521	47.08	George H. W. Bush	841,300	42.43	Ross Perot	199,968	10.09	11
1988	George H. W. Bush	947,233	57.89	Michael Dukakis	679,794	41.55	—			11
1984	Ronald Reagan	990,212	57.84	Walter Mondale	711,714	41.57	—			11
1980	Ronald Reagan	787,761	48.70	Jimmy Carter	783,051	48.41	John B. Anderson	35,991	2.22	10
1976	Jimmy Carter	825,879	55.94	Gerald Ford	633,969	42.94	—			10
1972	Richard Nixon	813,147	67.70	George McGovern	357,293	29.75	—			10
1968	Richard Nixon	472,592	37.85	Hubert Humphrey	351,233	28.13	George Wallace	424,792	34.02	11
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson	634,947	55.50	Barry Goldwater	508,965	44.49	—			11
1960	John F. Kennedy	481,453	45.77	Richard Nixon	556,577	52.92	—			11
1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower	462,288	49.21	Adlai Stevenson II	456,507	48.60	T. Coleman Andrews/ Unpledged Electors [d]	19,820	2.11	11
1952	Dwight D. Eisenhower	446,147	49.99	Adlai Stevenson II	443,710	49.71	—			11
1948	Harry S. Truman	270,402	49.14	Thomas E. Dewey	202,914	36.87	Strom Thurmond	73,815	13.41	12	Electoral vote split: 11 for Truman, 1 for Thurmond (faithless elector).
1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt	308,707	60.45	Thomas E. Dewey	200,311	39.22	—			12
1940	Franklin D. Roosevelt	351,601	67.25	Wendell Willkie	169,153	32.35	—			11
1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	328,083	68.85	Alf Landon	146,520	30.75	—			11
1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	259,473	66.49	Herbert Hoover	126,752	32.48	—			11
1928	Herbert Hoover	195,388	53.76	Al Smith	167,343	46.04	—			12
1924	Calvin Coolidge	130,882	43.59	John W. Davis	158,537	52.8	Robert M. La Follette	10,656	3.55	12
1920	Warren G. Harding	219,829	51.29	James M. Cox	206,558	48.19	Parley P. Christensen	—	—	12
1916	Woodrow Wilson	153,280	56.31	Charles E. Hughes	116,223	42.70	—			12
1912	Woodrow Wilson	133,021	52.80	Theodore Roosevelt	54,041	21.45	William H. Taft	60,475	24.00	12
1908	William H. Taft	117,977	45.87	William Jennings Bryan	135,608	52.73	—			12
1904	Theodore Roosevelt	105,363	43.40	Alton B. Parker	131,653	54.23	—			12
1900	William McKinley	123,108	44.95	William Jennings Bryan	145,240	53.03	—			12
1896	William McKinley	148,683	46.33	William Jennings Bryan	167,168	52.09	—			12
1892	Grover Cleveland	136,468	51.36	Benjamin Harrison	100,537	37.83	James B. Weaver	23,918	9.00	12
1888	Benjamin Harrison [c]	138,978	45.76	Grover Cleveland	158,699	52.26	—			12
1884	Grover Cleveland	133,770	51.45	James G. Blaine	124,101	47.74	—			12
1880	James A. Garfield	107,677	44.26	Winfield S. Hancock	129,569	53.26	James B. Weaver	6,017	2.47	12
1876	Rutherford B. Hayes [c]	89,566	40.21	Samuel J. Tilden	133,177	59.79	—			12
1872	Ulysses S. Grant	85,655	47.84	Horace Greeley	93,391	52.16	—			12
1868	Ulysses S. Grant	56,628	68.4	Horatio Seymour	26,129	31.6	—			10
1864	Abraham Lincoln			George B. McClellan			—				Under Union control by 1864 and held elections, but electors (who voted for Lincoln) were not ultimately counted.

Election of 1860

The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states, including Tennessee, and brought about the American Civil War.

Year	Winner (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Electoral votes
1860	Abraham Lincoln	no ballots		Stephen A. Douglas	11,281	7.7	John C. Breckinridge	65,097	44.6	John Bell	69,728	47.7	12

Elections from 1828 to 1856

Year	Winner (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Other national candidates [b]	Votes	Percent	Electoral votes	Notes
1856	James Buchanan	69,704	52.18	John C. Frémont	no ballots		Millard Fillmore	63,878	47.82	12
1852	Franklin Pierce	56,900	49.27	Winfield Scott	58,586	50.73	John P. Hale	no ballots		12
1848	Zachary Taylor	64,321	52.52	Lewis Cass	58,142	47.48	Martin Van Buren	no ballots		13
1844	James K. Polk	59,917	49.95	Henry Clay	60,040	50.05	—			13
1840	William Henry Harrison	60,194	55.66	Martin Van Buren	47,951	44.34	—			15
1836	Martin Van Buren	26,170	42.08	Hugh Lawson White	36,027	57.92	various [e]			15
1832	Andrew Jackson	28,078	95.42	Henry Clay	1,347	4.58	William Wirt	no ballots		15
1828	Andrew Jackson	44,293	95.19	John Quincy Adams	2,240	4.81	—			11

Election of 1824

The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become president, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.

Year	Winner (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Runner-up (nationally)	Votes	Percent	Electoral votes
1824	Andrew Jackson	20,197	97.45	John Quincy Adams	216	1.04	Henry Clay	no ballots		William H. Crawford	312	1.51	11

Elections of from 1796 to 1820

In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all eight of Tennessee's electoral votes, and all electoral votes nationwide except one vote in New Hampshire. To the extent that a popular vote was held, it was primarily directed to filling the office of vice president.

Year	Winner (nationally)	Runner-up (nationally)	Electoral votes	Notes
1820	James Monroe	-	7	Monroe effectively ran unopposed.
1816	James Monroe	Rufus King	8
1812	James Madison	DeWitt Clinton	8
1808	James Madison	Charles C. Pinckney	5
1804	Thomas Jefferson	Charles C. Pinckney	5
1800	Thomas Jefferson	John Adams	3
1796	John Adams	Thomas Jefferson	3

Results Maps

• 
  1972 United States presidential election
• 
  1976 United States presidential election
• 
  1980 United States presidential election
• 
  1984 United States presidential election
• 
  1988 United States presidential election
• 
  1996 United States presidential election
• 
  1996 United States presidential election
• 
  2000 United States presidential election
• 
  2004 United States presidential election
• 
  2008 United States presidential election
• 
  2012 United States presidential election
• 
  2016 United States presidential election
• 
  2020 United States presidential election
• 
  2024 United States presidential election

See also

• Political party strength in Tennessee
• Elections in Tennessee

Notes

1. John Bell, 1860.
2. For purposes of these lists, other national candidates are defined as those who won at least one electoral vote, or won at least ten percent of the vote in multiple states.
3. Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
4. Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
5. Three other candidates ran and received electoral votes nationally as part of the unsuccessful Whig strategy to defeat Martin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country. The others were William Henry Harrison, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Tennessee.

References

1. Langsdon 2000, p. x. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLangsdon2000 (help)
2. Hunt, Keel (2018). Crossing the Aisle: How Bipartisanship Brought Tennessee to the Twenty-First Century and Could Save America. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN   978-0-8265-2241-2 – via Google Books.
3. Doble, Rob (December 24, 2020). "Analysis: The polarization express". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
4. Clouse, Allie (November 6, 2020). "As Georgia becomes a blue wedge in the Deep South, Tennessee cleaves tighter to the GOP". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
5. "Presidential Election Results: Trump Wins". The New York Times . November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
6. "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times . November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
7. 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
8. 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
9. 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
10. "Federal Elections 2004: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Elections Commission. May 2005.
11. "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
12. "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.