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1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee

←  1940 November 7, 1944 [1] 1948 →

All 12 Tennessee votes to the Electoral College
 
Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Thomas E. Dewey
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York New York
Running mate Harry S. Truman John W. Bricker
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 308,707 200,311
Percentage 60.45% 39.22%

County Results

President before election

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

Elected President

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic

The 1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 12 [2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

For over a century after the Civil War, Tennessee was divided according to political loyalties established in that war. Unionist regions covering almost all of East Tennessee, Kentucky Pennyroyal-allied Macon County, and the five West Tennessee Highland Rim counties of Carroll, Henderson, McNairy, Hardin and Wayne [3] voted Republican – generally by landslide margins – as they saw the Democratic Party as the "war party" who had forced them into a war they did not wish to fight. [4] Contrariwise, the rest of Middle and West Tennessee who had supported and driven the state's secession was equally fiercely Democratic as it associated the Republicans with Reconstruction. [5] After the disfranchisement of the state's African-American population by a poll tax was largely complete in the 1890s, [6] the Democratic Party was certain of winning statewide elections if united, [7] although unlike the Deep South Republicans would almost always gain thirty to forty percent of the statewide vote from mountain and Highland Rim support.

In 1920 by moving into a small number of traditionally Democratic areas in Middle Tennessee [8] and expanding turnout due to the Nineteenth Amendment and powerful isolationist sentiment, [9] the Republican Party captured Tennessee's presidential electoral votes and won the governorship and three congressional seats in addition to the rock-ribbed GOP First and Second Districts; however, these gains were temporary because isolationist sympathy ebbed and turnout consequently fell. [10] Then in 1928 anti-Catholicism against Democratic nominee Al Smith in this powerfully fundamentalist state [11] meant that Herbert Hoover bettered Harding’s performance without however gaining significant down-ballot coattails.

Republican gains would be more than reversed in the 1930s due to the impact of the Great Depression, which was generally blamed upon the Republican Party’s policies during the 1920s. Internal divisions prevented the Republicans taking advantage of a disputed Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1932 between Lewis Pope and Hill McAlister, [12] and for the next third of a century the Republicans would rarely contest statewide offices seriously despite continuing dominance of East Tennessee and half a dozen Unionist counties in the middle and west of the state. [13] State politics became dominated by Edward Hull “Boss” Crump, whose Memphis political machine would consistently provide decisive votes in statewide Democratic primaries — aided by cross-party voting by Republicans in eastern mountain counties. [13] Crump would be supported during this era by long-serving Senator Kenneth Douglas McKellar, so that in 1938 when several statewide candidates allied themselves with Tennessee’s other Senator, Gordon Browning, the Crump/McKellar machine not merely defeated the collaboration, but even unseated Senator Browning. [14]

In April 1944, Smith v. Allwright ruled the white primary upon which the politics of most Confederate states was based unconstitutional. However, Tennessee’s history of substantial mountain Republican opposition meant it, like Oklahoma, North Carolina and Virginia, lacked statewide white primaries, although certain counties did use the white primary. [15] Consequently, local response to this landmark court case was generally calm; [15] nevertheless, there had already been a significant reaction to American involvement in World War II, in which Tennessee Senator Kenneth McKellar was a significant leader. [16]

Early polls saw incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt and new running mate Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman nonetheless leading in Tennessee by the same margin as Roosevelt had won in his previous three elections. [17] Later polls showed a slight decline, and on election day the decline from Roosevelt’s previous three performances was somewhat more marked still. [18] Nonetheless, Roosevelt still carried Tennessee without any difficulty, pollingwith 60.45 percent of the popular vote, against 39.22 percent for New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey ( R) and running mate Ohio Governor John Bricker. [19]

Roosevelt's 21.23 percentage point margin of victory in Tennessee was the closest that he came to losing any state of the former Confederacy in any of his four presidential runs, but as of 2020, this remains the last time that a Democrat has won more than sixty percent Tennessee’s vote in a presidential election.

Results

1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee [20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt ( inc.) 308,707 60.45%
Republican Thomas E. Dewey 200,311 39.22%
Prohibition Claude Watson 882 0.17%
Socialist Norman Thomas 792 0.16%
Total votes 510,692 100%

Results by county

1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee by county [21]
County Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic
Thomas Edmund Dewey
Republican
Claude A. Watson
Prohibition
Norman Mattoon Thomas
Socialist
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Anderson 3,476 50.23% 3,424 49.48% 6 0.09% 14 0.20% 52 0.75% 6,920
Bedford 2,651 77.81% 733 21.51% 14 0.41% 9 0.26% 1,918 56.30% 3,407
Benton 1,901 60.85% 1,195 38.25% 21 0.67% 7 0.22% 706 22.60% 3,124
Bledsoe 795 40.11% 1,187 59.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -392 -19.78% 1,982
Blount 2,836 31.28% 6,193 68.30% 21 0.23% 17 0.19% -3,357 -37.02% 9,067
Bradley 1,312 33.21% 2,616 66.21% 21 0.53% 2 0.05% -1,304 -33.00% 3,951
Campbell 2,008 38.10% 3,244 61.56% 3 0.06% 15 0.28% -1,236 -23.45% 5,270
Cannon 1,002 61.47% 627 38.47% 1 0.06% 0 0.00% 375 23.01% 1,630
Carroll 2,077 40.82% 2,996 58.88% 4 0.08% 11 0.22% -919 -18.06% 5,088
Carter 1,662 25.35% 4,873 74.33% 21 0.32% 0 0.00% -3,211 -48.98% 6,556
Cheatham 1,398 86.51% 216 13.37% 2 0.12% 0 0.00% 1,182 73.14% 1,616
Chester 1,156 55.28% 931 44.52% 4 0.19% 0 0.00% 225 10.76% 2,091
Claiborne 1,649 40.24% 2,426 59.20% 15 0.37% 8 0.20% -777 -18.96% 4,098
Clay 754 53.70% 650 46.30% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 104 7.41% 1,404
Cocke 989 21.75% 3,554 78.14% 2 0.04% 3 0.07% -2,565 -56.40% 4,548
Coffee 2,703 82.56% 568 17.35% 3 0.09% 0 0.00% 2,135 65.21% 3,274
Crockett 1,421 64.24% 782 35.35% 6 0.27% 3 0.14% 639 28.89% 2,212
Cumberland 1,174 39.40% 1,786 59.93% 9 0.30% 11 0.37% -612 -20.54% 2,980
Davidson 26,493 72.07% 10,174 27.68% 60 0.16% 33 0.09% 16,319 44.39% 36,760
Decatur 1,515 54.83% 1,235 44.70% 5 0.18% 8 0.29% 280 10.13% 2,763
DeKalb 2,341 52.00% 2,161 48.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 180 4.00% 4,502
Dickson 2,379 79.57% 600 20.07% 7 0.23% 4 0.13% 1,779 59.50% 2,990
Dyer 3,368 73.60% 1,190 26.01% 18 0.39% 0 0.00% 2,178 47.60% 4,576
Fayette 1,417 89.06% 172 10.81% 2 0.13% 0 0.00% 1,245 78.25% 1,591
Fentress 657 27.65% 1,696 71.38% 13 0.55% 10 0.42% -1,039 -43.73% 2,376
Franklin 3,958 86.55% 600 13.12% 13 0.28% 2 0.04% 3,358 73.43% 4,573
Gibson 4,632 74.57% 1,568 25.24% 11 0.18% 1 0.02% 3,064 49.32% 6,212
Giles 4,249 84.98% 751 15.02% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 3,498 69.96% 5,000
Grainger 605 23.73% 1,938 76.00% 3 0.12% 4 0.16% -1,333 -52.27% 2,550
Greene 2,726 35.56% 4,922 64.21% 17 0.22% 0 0.00% -2,196 -28.65% 7,665
Grundy 1,462 77.48% 406 21.52% 10 0.53% 9 0.48% 1,056 55.96% 1,887
Hamblen 1,723 46.27% 2,001 53.73% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -278 -7.47% 3,724
Hamilton 17,527 62.21% 10,379 36.84% 78 0.28% 189 0.67% 7,148 25.37% 28,173
Hancock 431 18.23% 1,929 81.60% 4 0.17% 0 0.00% -1,498 -63.37% 2,364
Hardeman 1,949 81.21% 444 18.50% 7 0.29% 0 0.00% 1,505 62.71% 2,400
Hardin 1,358 38.80% 2,124 60.69% 11 0.31% 7 0.20% -766 -21.89% 3,500
Hawkins 1,756 32.17% 3,692 67.64% 8 0.15% 2 0.04% -1,936 -35.47% 5,458
Haywood 2,522 92.35% 208 7.62% 1 0.04% 0 0.00% 2,314 84.73% 2,731
Henderson 1,009 28.19% 2,570 71.81% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,561 -43.62% 3,579
Henry 3,111 81.21% 702 18.32% 14 0.37% 4 0.10% 2,409 62.88% 3,831
Hickman 2,223 78.11% 618 21.71% 4 0.14% 1 0.04% 1,605 56.39% 2,846
Houston 976 79.74% 248 20.26% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 728 59.48% 1,224
Humphreys 1,327 78.01% 367 21.58% 3 0.18% 4 0.24% 960 56.44% 1,701
Jackson 1,407 66.56% 695 32.88% 4 0.19% 8 0.38% 712 33.68% 2,114
Jefferson 966 23.32% 3,159 76.25% 12 0.29% 6 0.14% -2,193 -52.93% 4,143
Johnson 450 14.25% 2,699 85.47% 9 0.28% 0 0.00% -2,249 -71.22% 3,158
Knox 18,482 46.85% 20,742 52.58% 78 0.20% 150 0.38% -2,260 -5.73% 39,452
Lake 1,440 90.57% 150 9.43% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,290 81.13% 1,590
Lauderdale 3,732 90.63% 382 9.28% 4 0.10% 0 0.00% 3,350 81.35% 4,118
Lawrence 4,662 51.68% 4,359 48.32% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 303 3.36% 9,021
Lewis 955 79.12% 252 20.88% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 703 58.24% 1,207
Lincoln 3,735 86.54% 573 13.28% 8 0.19% 0 0.00% 3,162 73.26% 4,316
Loudon 1,632 34.09% 3,147 65.74% 3 0.06% 5 0.10% -1,515 -31.65% 4,787
Macon 701 23.02% 2,322 76.26% 6 0.20% 16 0.53% -1,621 -53.23% 3,045
Madison 5,706 75.91% 1,793 23.85% 6 0.08% 12 0.16% 3,913 52.06% 7,517
Marion 2,666 58.81% 1,761 38.85% 106 2.34% 0 0.00% 905 19.96% 4,533
Marshall 3,812 88.34% 500 11.59% 3 0.07% 0 0.00% 3,312 76.76% 4,315
Maury 4,814 86.29% 747 13.39% 11 0.20% 7 0.13% 4,067 72.90% 5,579
McMinn 4,435 58.93% 3,091 41.07% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,344 17.86% 7,526
McNairy 1,712 38.83% 2,697 61.17% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -985 -22.34% 4,409
Meigs 727 57.74% 532 42.26% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 195 15.49% 1,259
Monroe 3,385 49.64% 3,424 50.21% 5 0.07% 5 0.07% -39 -0.57% 6,819
Montgomery 2,971 80.60% 702 19.05% 7 0.19% 6 0.16% 2,269 61.56% 3,686
Moore 742 83.84% 143 16.16% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 599 67.68% 885
Morgan 1,201 46.19% 1,399 53.81% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -198 -7.62% 2,600
Obion 3,670 85.39% 615 14.31% 11 0.26% 2 0.05% 3,055 71.08% 4,298
Overton 1,449 60.65% 935 39.14% 3 0.13% 2 0.08% 514 21.52% 2,389
Perry 771 66.58% 387 33.42% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 384 33.16% 1,158
Pickett 416 34.72% 761 63.52% 10 0.83% 11 0.92% -345 -28.80% 1,198
Polk 4,842 92.65% 378 7.23% 1 0.02% 5 0.10% 4,464 85.42% 5,226
Putnam 2,788 61.17% 1,770 38.83% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,018 22.33% 4,558
Rhea 1,581 45.68% 1,880 54.32% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -299 -8.64% 3,461
Roane 1,971 41.95% 2,711 57.69% 14 0.30% 3 0.06% -740 -15.75% 4,699
Robertson 3,074 82.90% 622 16.77% 6 0.16% 6 0.16% 2,452 66.13% 3,708
Rutherford 4,730 83.89% 879 15.59% 7 0.12% 22 0.39% 3,851 68.30% 5,638
Scott 850 30.01% 1,971 69.60% 5 0.18% 6 0.21% -1,121 -39.58% 2,832
Sequatchie 851 67.11% 417 32.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 434 34.23% 1,268
Sevier 711 12.58% 4,930 87.24% 6 0.11% 4 0.07% -4,219 -74.66% 5,651
Shelby 48,625 81.66% 10,839 18.20% 40 0.07% 40 0.07% 37,786 63.46% 59,544
Smith 2,107 70.09% 887 29.51% 9 0.30% 3 0.10% 1,220 40.59% 3,006
Stewart 1,916 85.12% 335 14.88% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,581 70.24% 2,251
Sullivan 6,290 54.49% 5,223 45.24% 23 0.20% 8 0.07% 1,067 9.24% 11,544
Sumner 4,076 80.30% 990 19.50% 4 0.08% 6 0.12% 3,086 60.80% 5,076
Tipton 4,046 92.80% 310 7.11% 3 0.07% 1 0.02% 3,736 85.69% 4,360
Trousdale 1,170 89.72% 131 10.05% 1 0.08% 2 0.15% 1,039 79.68% 1,304
Unicoi 779 28.11% 1,992 71.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,213 -43.77% 2,771
Union 627 26.15% 1,768 73.73% 1 0.04% 2 0.08% -1,141 -47.58% 2,398
Van Buren 526 64.15% 291 35.49% 3 0.37% 0 0.00% 235 28.66% 820
Warren 2,560 74.66% 848 24.73% 13 0.38% 8 0.23% 1,712 49.93% 3,429
Washington 4,060 38.29% 6,485 61.17% 31 0.29% 26 0.25% -2,425 -22.87% 10,602
Wayne 630 22.34% 2,185 77.48% 3 0.11% 2 0.07% -1,555 -55.14% 2,820
Weakley 3,434 68.15% 1,595 31.65% 10 0.20% 0 0.00% 1,839 36.50% 5,039
White 1,339 66.58% 668 33.22% 4 0.20% 0 0.00% 671 33.37% 2,011
Williamson 2,656 81.27% 602 18.42% 8 0.24% 2 0.06% 2,054 62.85% 3,268
Wilson 3,148 76.97% 942 23.03% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2,206 53.94% 4,090
Totals 308,707 60.45% 200,311 39.22% 882 0.17% 792 0.16% 108,396 21.23% 510,692

References

  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1944 – Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "1944 Election for the Fortieth Term (1945-49)". Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Wright, John K. (October 1932). "Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps". Geographical Review. 22 (4): 666–672.
  4. ^ Key (Jr.), Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation (New York, 1949), pp. 282-283
  5. ^ Lyons, William; Scheb (II), John M.; Stair, Billy. Government and Politics in Tennessee. pp. 183–184. ISBN  1572331410.
  6. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 ISBN  9780691163246
  7. ^ Grantham, Dewey W. (Fall 1995). "Tennessee and Twentieth-Century American Politics'". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 54 (3): 210–229.
  8. ^ Reichard, Gary W. (February 1970). "The Aberration of 1920: An Analysis of Harding's Victory in Tennessee". The Journal of Southern History. 36 (1): 33–49.
  9. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 211
  10. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 287
  11. ^ Larson, Edward J. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion. ISBN  9780465075102.
  12. ^ Majors, William R. (1986). Change and continuity: Tennessee politics since the Civil War. p. 65. ISBN  9780865542099.
  13. ^ a b Majors, Change and continuity, p. 72
  14. ^ Majors, Change and continuity, p. 70
  15. ^ a b Klarman, Michael J. (2001). "The White Primary Rulings: A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision-Making". Florida State University Law Review. 29: 55–107.
  16. ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority p. 288
  17. ^ Gallup, George (August 16, 1944). "FDR Has Large Lead in Three Southern States: Dewey Trails in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, Poll Shows". Greensboro Daily News. Greensboro, North Carolina. p. 7.
  18. ^ Gallup, George (October 27, 1944). "Dewey Is Running Closer to Roosevelt: Latest Survey and Tabulations by Gallup Shows Race Is Neck-and-Neck Affair, with Dewey Holding Slight Advantage in Pivotal States". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 3.
  19. ^ "The American Presidency Project — Election of 1944". Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  20. ^ "1944 Presidential General Election Results – Tennessee". Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  21. ^ "TN US President, November 07, 1944". Our Campaigns.