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Political party strength in Tennessee

Politics in the US state of Tennessee


Summary

Politics in the US state of Tennessee

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, Chattanooga and parts of Knoxville, Clarksville, Murfreesboro and Jackson. Several rural Black Belt areas of West Tennessee and suburban areas of the Nashville/Murfreesboro, Chattanooga and Knoxville metropolitan areas also contain significant Democratic minorities. On the other hand, Republicans have a solid base of support in Cookeville and its suburbs, most exurban areas around Nashville except in Rutherford County and Franklin, most suburbs of Memphis, the Tri-Cities outside of Johnson City itself and most majority rural areas, regularly outperforming even their statewide results there.

Table

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Tennessee:

  • Governor

The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:

  • State Senate
  • State House of Representatives
  • State delegation to the U.S. Senate
  • State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives

For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.

YearExecutive officeState LegislatureUnited States CongressElectoral College votesGovernorState SenateState HouseU.S. Senator (Class I)U.S. Senator (Class II)U.S. House179017911792179317941795179617971798179918001801180218031804180518061807180818091810181118121813181418151816181718181819182018211822182318241825182618271828182918301831183218331834183518361837183818391840184118421843184418451846184718481849185018511852185318541855185618571858185918601861186218631864186518661867186818691870187118721873187418751876187718781879188018811882188318841885188618871888188918901891189218931894189518961897189818991900190119021903190419051906190719081909191019111912191319141915191619171918191919201921192219231924192519261927192819291930193119321933193419351936193719381939194019411942194319441945194619471948194919501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
William Blount (DR)James White (DR)
DR majority
John Sevier (DR)William Cocke (DR)William Blount (DR)Andrew Jackson (DR)Thomas Jefferson/
Aaron Burr (DR)
Andrew Jackson (DR)Joseph Anderson (DR)William C. C.
Claiborne (DR)
DR majority
Daniel Smith (DR)
DR majorityJoseph Anderson (DR)William Cocke (DR)
Thomas Jefferson/
Aaron Burr (DR)
Archibald Roane (DR)DR majorityWilliam Dickson (DR)
John Sevier (DR)3DR
Thomas Jefferson/
George Clinton (DR)
DR majorityDR majorityDaniel Smith (DR)
DR majority
James Madison/
George Clinton (DR)
Willie Blount (DR)DR majorityF majority
Jenkin Whiteside (DR)
DR majorityDR majority
George W. Campbell (DR)
James Madison/
Elbridge Gerry (DR)
DR majorityDR majority6DR
Jesse Wharton (DR)
Joseph McMinn (DR)DR majorityDR majorityGeorge W. Campbell (DR)
John Williams (DR)
James Monroe/
Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
DR majorityDR majority
John Eaton (DR)
DR majorityDR majority
William Carroll (DR)DR majorityDR majority5DR, 1 vac.
DR majorityDR majorityAndrew Jackson (DR)9DR
Andrew Jackson /
John C. Calhoun (DR)
NR majorityJohn Eaton (J)Andrew Jackson (J)9J
Hugh Lawson White (J)
Sam Houston (DR)J majority8J, 1NR
Andrew Jackson/
John C. Calhoun (D)
NR majority
William Hall (D)NR majorityFelix Grundy (J)
William Carroll (D)
NR majorityJ majority
Andrew Jackson/
Martin Van Buren (D)
J majorityJ majority12J, 1NR
Newton Cannon (W)NR majorityJ majorityHugh Lawson White (NR)9NR, 4J
NR majorityNR majorityHugh Lawson White/
John Tyler (W)
Felix Grundy (D)Hugh Lawson White (W)10W, 3D
18W, 7D46W, 25D, 4?vacant
Ephraim H. Foster (W)
James K. Polk (D)Felix Grundy (D)7W, 6D
14D, 11W42D, 33WAlexander O. Anderson (D)William Henry Harrison/
John Tyler (W)
James C. Jones (W)Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D)vacant8W, 5D
13D, 12W39W, 36D
Ephraim H. Foster (W)Spencer Jarnagin (W)6D, 5W
14W, 11D40W, 35DHenry Clay/
Theodore Frelinghuysen (W)
Aaron V. Brown (D)Hopkins L. Turney (D)
13D, 12W39D, 36W
Neill S. Brown (W)John Bell (W)
13W, 12D41W, 34DZachary Taylor/
Millard Fillmore (W)
William Trousdale (D)7D, 4W
14D, 11W39D, 36W
William B. Campbell (W)James C. Jones (W)
16W, 9D39W, 36DWinfield Scott/
William Alexander Graham (W)
Andrew Johnson (D)5D, 5W
13D, 12KN44W, 31D6W, 4D
5D, 5KN
14KN, 11D38KN, 37DJames Buchanan/
John C. Breckinridge (D)
Isham G. Harris (D)Andrew Johnson (D)John Bell (KN)7D, 3KN
18D, 7KN42D, 33KN
Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D)7O, 3D
14D, 11O41D, 34OJohn Bell/
Edward Everett (CU)
3U, 7 vac.
American Civil War
Andrew Johnson
(U/Military)American Civil War
Abraham Lincoln/
Andrew Johnson (NU)
Edward H. East (R)
Parson Brownlow (R)
25R79R, 4DDavid T. Patterson (U)Joseph S. Fowler (U)8U
David T. Patterson (D)Joseph S. Fowler (R)8R
83RUlysses S. Grant/
Schuyler Colfax (R)
Dewitt Clinton Senter (R)Parson Brownlow (R)
20D, 5R66D, 17R
John C. Brown (D)22D, 3R63D, 12RHenry Cooper (D)6D, 2R
Thomas A. Hendricks/
B. Gratz Brown (D)
18D, 7R49D, 26R7R, 3D
James D. Porter (D)23D, 2R70D, 5RAndrew Johnson (D)9D, 1R
David M. Key (D)
Samuel J. Tilden/
Thomas A. Hendricks (D)
20D, 5R59D, 16RJames E. Bailey (D)Isham G. Harris (D)8D, 2R
Albert S. Marks (D)22D, 3R61D, 14R9D, 1R
Winfield Scott Hancock and
William Hayden English (D)
Alvin Hawkins (R)15D, 10R37R, 37D, 1GBHowell E. Jackson (D)7D, 3R
William B. Bate (D)27D, 6R71D, 28R8D, 2R
Grover Cleveland/
Thomas A. Hendricks (D)
22D, 11R81D, 18R7D, 3R
Washington C.
Whitthorne (D)
Robert Love Taylor (D)21D, 12R63D, 36RWilliam B. Bate (D)8D, 2R
Grover Cleveland/
Allen G. Thurman (D)
23D, 10R69D, 30R7D, 3R
John P. Buchanan (FA)25D, 8R79D, 20R8D, 2R
Grover Cleveland/
Adlai Stevenson I (D)
Peter Turney (D)25D, 6R, 1Pop, 1I68D, 26R, 5Pop
21D, 10R, 1Pop, 1U60D, 32R, 7Pop6D, 4R
William Jennings Bryan/
Arthur Sewall (D)
Robert Love Taylor (D)24D, 9R63D, 32R, 4Pop8D, 2R
Thomas B. Turley (D)
Benton McMillin (D)25D, 8R77D, 22R
William Jennings Bryan/
Adlai Stevenson I (D)
27D, 5R, 1ID76D, 23REdward W. Carmack (D)
James B. Frazier (D)28D, 5R83D, 16R
Alton B. Parker/
Henry G. Davis (D)
80D, 19R
John I. Cox (D)James B. Frazier (D)
Malcolm R. Patterson (D)27D, 6R78D, 21RRobert Love Taylor (D)
William Jennings Bryan/
John W. Kern (D)
28D, 5R77D, 22R
Ben W. Hooper (R)21D, 7R, 4RD, 1I74D, 25RLuke Lea (D)
Newell Sanders (R)Woodrow Wilson/
Thomas R. Marshall (D)
16D, 6R, 6RD, 5ID52D, 27R, 20IWilliam R. Webb (D)
John K. Shields (D)
Thomas Clark Rye (D)26D, 7R72D, 27R
27D, 6RKenneth McKellar (D)
Albert H. Roberts (D)26D, 7R
Warren G. Harding/
Calvin Coolidge (R)
Alfred A. Taylor (R)24D, 9R66D, 32R, 1I5D, 5R
Austin Peay (D)28D, 5R76D, 23R8D, 2R
John W. Davis/
Charles W. Bryan (D)
29D, 4RLawrence Tyson (D)
Henry Hollis Horton (D)28D, 5R80D, 19R
Herbert Hoover/
Charles Curtis (R)
25D, 8R72D, 27R
William E. Brock (D)
28D, 5R83D, 16RCordell Hull (D)
Franklin D. Roosevelt/
John Nance Garner (D)
Hill McAlister (D)29D, 4R81D, 18RNathan L. Bachman (D)7D, 2R
28D, 5R
Gordon Browning (D)29D, 4R
George L. Berry (D)
Prentice Cooper (D)83D, 16RTom Stewart (D)
Franklin D. Roosevelt/
Henry A. Wallace (D)
30D, 3R78D, 20R, 1I8D, 2R
Franklin D. Roosevelt/
Harry S. Truman (D)
Jim Nance McCord (D)28D, 5R75D, 24R
29D, 4R82D, 17R
Harry S. Truman/
Alben W. Barkley (D)
Gordon Browning (D)80D, 19REstes Kefauver (D)
Dwight D. Eisenhower/
Richard Nixon (R)
Frank G. Clement (D)28D, 5R81D, 18RAlbert Gore Sr. (D)7D, 2R
80D, 19R
27D, 6R78D, 21R
Buford Ellington (D)28D, 5R82D, 17R
Richard Nixon/
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R)
27D, 6R81D, 18R
Frank G. Clement (D)78D, 21RHerbert S. Walters (D)6D, 3R
Lyndon B. Johnson/
Hubert Humphrey (D)
25D, 8R74D, 25RRoss Bass (D)
Buford Ellington (D)58D, 41RHoward Baker (R)5D, 4R
Richard Nixon/
Spiro Agnew (R)
20D, 13R49R, 49D, 1I
21D, 12R
Winfield Dunn (R)19D, 13R, 1A56D, 43RBill Brock (R)
51D, 48R5R, 3D
Ray Blanton (D)20D, 12R, 1I63D, 35R, 1I5D, 3R
Jimmy Carter/
Walter Mondale (D)
23D, 9R, 1I66D, 32R, 1IJim Sasser (D)
Lamar Alexander (R)20D, 12R, 1I60D, 38R, 1I
Ronald Reagan/
George H. W. Bush (R)
58D, 39R, 2I
21D, 11R, 1I
60D, 38R, 1I6D, 3R
22D, 11R
23D, 10R62D, 37RAl Gore (D)
Ned McWherter (D)61D, 38R
George H. W. Bush/
Dan Quayle (R)
22D, 11R59D, 40R
20D, 13R55D, 44R
Bill Clinton/
Al Gore (D)
19D, 14R64D, 35RHarlan Mathews (D)
Don Sundquist (R)18D, 15R59D, 40RBill Frist (R)Fred Thompson (R)5R, 4D
17R, 16D
18D, 15R61D, 38R
59D, 40R
George W. Bush/
Dick Cheney (R)
18D, 15R58D, 41R
Phil Bredesen (D)54D, 45RLamar Alexander (R)5D, 4R
17R, 16D53D, 46R
18R, 15D
17R, 16DBob Corker (R)
16R, 16D, 1I
John McCain/
Sarah Palin (R)
19R, 14D50R, 49D
49R, 49D, 1CCR
50R, 48D, 1I
Bill Haslam (R)20R, 13D64R, 34D, 1I7R, 2D
Mitt Romney/
Paul Ryan (R)
26R, 7D71R, 27D, 1I
28R, 5D73R, 26D
Donald Trump/
Mike Pence (R)
74R, 25D
Bill Lee (R)73R, 26DMarsha Blackburn (R)
Donald Trump/
Mike Pence (R)
27R, 6DBill Hagerty (R)
75R, 24D8R, 1D
Donald Trump/
JD Vance (R)

Political History of Tennessee

Pre-Civil War

In 1789, the new United States designated this area as the "Territory of the United States, South of the River Ohio." Even though Tennessee was not yet a state, some government was organized to administer the territory. William Blount was appointed as the first official governor of Tennessee, James White became the state's first representative in Congress, and Tennessee's political party history under European Americans was started. The majority party in Tennessee began as the Democratic-Republican party and operated until 1828. That year it was dissolved and the Democratic Party was formed.

From 1828, control of Tennessee state government alternated initially between the Democratic Party and the on. Whig Party in opposition. It later became the Republican Party, shortly before the American Civil War began in 1861. While these two parties fought for the majority during these years, the Know-Nothing Party, Unionist Party, and Constitutional Party were also active in the state. Their representatives were elected to state government, but did not dominate it. The politics of Middle and Western Tennessee were dominated by planters and slaveholders, especially the major planters in the western Delta area of Memphis and environs near the Mississippi River. Overseeing a large population of enslaved African Americans, planters voted to secede at the time of the Civil War in order to protect slavery, which was profitable for them and the commodity crop of cotton. Eastern Tennessee, by contrast, had a population with higher representation of white yeomen and subsistence farmers and artisans. They supported the Union during the Civil War and resisted secession.

Civil War to WWII

From the Civil War until World War II, Tennessee was controlled by the Democratic Party, made up of conservative whites in the state, especially of the planter and former slaveholding class. Together with other white Democratic Southerners in Congress, they formed a voting block known as the Solid South. Based on the seniority rules of the time and their virtually unrestricted control of seats from Southern states by having disenfranchised most African American at the turn of the century, senior Congressmen and Senators from the South controlled chairmanships of important committees, strongly influencing national policy. During the Great Depression, they limited benefits for African Americans in the South.

World War II to present day

During the period from 1939 until about 1970, the conservative whites of the Democratic party in Tennessee largely controlled the state politically. A minority of Republican voters were dominant in the eastern part of the state, which had favored the Union during the Civil War. But the state had been more competitive between its two parties than others in the South, as more blacks had retained their ability to vote and supported the Republican Party into the early 20th century.

From 1928 through 2004, with the exception of 1960, Tennessee voted for the winner of the Electoral College in races for President of the United States. This made the Volunteer State one of the few Bellwether states in the traditional South.

In 1976, Tennessee voted for Democrat Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia, a "favorite son" of the South. Similarly, in 1992 and 1996, Tennessee voted for the Democratic ticket of Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Al Gore, a US senator from Tennessee, both sons of the South. But in 2000, Tennessee voted for Republican George W. Bush over Al Gore by single digit margins. Since 2000, Tennessee has become a Republican stronghold, voting increasingly Republican in all following elections.

References

References

  1. (December 24, 2020). "Analysis: The polarization express". Tennessee Lookout.
  2. (November 6, 2020). "As Georgia becomes a blue wedge in the Deep South, Tennessee cleaves tighter to the GOP". Knoxville News-Sentinel.
  3. "DRA 2020".
  4. [https://www.knoxnews.com/news/columnists/booker-shook-things-up-in-69 Booker shook things up in 69] Knoxville News-Sentinel
  5. Whitehouse, Ken. (14 March 2007). "GOP State Senator bolts party".
  6. "From Territory to State {{!}} Tennessee Secretary of State".
  7. (2021). "Democratic Party". History.com.
  8. Dickey, John. (December 2016). "The Decline of Agriculture and the Rise of Republican Party Strength in the South". University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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