1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee

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 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 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.Key (Jr.), Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation (New York, 1949), pp. 282-283 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. After the disfranchisement of the state's African-American population by a poll tax was largely complete in the 1890s,Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 the Democratic Party was certain of winning statewide elections if united, 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 and expanding turnout due to the Nineteenth Amendment and powerful isolationist sentiment,Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 211 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.Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 287 Then in 1928 anti-Catholicism against Democratic nominee Al Smith in this powerfully fundamentalist state 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, 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.Majors, Change and continuity, p. 72 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. 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.Majors, Change and continuity, p. 70

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. Consequently, local response to this landmark court case was generally calm; 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.Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority p. 288

Results

Results by county 1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee by countyCountyFranklin D. RooseveltDemocraticThomas E. DeweyRepublicanClaude A. WatsonProhibitionNorman ThomasSocialistMarginTotal votescast # % # % # % # % # % 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% 4,090Totals308,70760.45%200,31139.22%8820.17%7920.16%108,39621.23%510,692

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Bledsoe Carroll Hamblen Knox Monroe Morgan Rhea Roane

Analysis 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. Later polls showed a slight decline, and on election day the decline from Roosevelt's previous three performances was somewhat more marked still. 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.

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 , this remains the last time that a Democrat has won more than sixty percent of Tennessee's vote in a presidential election.

See also

1944 Tennessee gubernatorial election

References