1976 United States presidential election in Tennessee

The 1976 United States presidential election in Tennessee was held on November 2, 1976. The Democratic Party candidate, former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter won the state of Tennessee with 56% of the vote against Republican Party candidate, President Gerald Ford,[1] carrying the state’s 10 electoral votes. This was the last time the democrats won more than 50% of the vote in the Volunteer State.

1976 United States presidential election in Tennessee

November 2, 1976
 
Nominee Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Georgia Michigan
Running mate Walter Mondale Bob Dole
Electoral vote 10 0
Popular vote 825,879 633,969
Percentage 55.94% 42.94%

County Results

President before election

Gerald Ford
Republican

Elected President

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Carter, a native Southerner from neighboring Georgia, carried Tennessee with a 13 point margin of victory against incumbent Ford. The Watergate scandal had severely damaged Ford's predecessor, Richard Nixon, who had resigned in 1974 as a result, and the Republican Party as a whole. The relatively unknown Carter campaigned as a Washington outsider free of the corruption of Watergate, and thus appealed to many voters in the country, including Tennessee.

As was normal during this era, Carter carried Western Tennessee and Middle Tennessee, the most Democratic regions in the state, by landslide margins, which included the major cities of Memphis and Nashville, the state capital. Carter even made inroads in traditionally Republican East Tennessee, though Ford kept the region in his column with his wins in the major cities of Chattanooga and Knoxville. Carter even outperformed by 0.44% Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 result during that President’s national landslide.

This was the first occasion since Oklahoma became a state in 1907 that Tennessee and Oklahoma produced a different popular vote winner, an occurrence replicated only in 1992 and 1996. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last presidential election in which the Democratic candidate won Tennessee with a majority of the popular vote. Bill Clinton would carry the state in both his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, though with pluralities, even with Tennessee native Al Gore on the tickets. This is also the last election in which Williamson County, Sullivan County, Madison County, Hamblen County, Cumberland County, McMinn County, Loudon County, Monroe County, Rhea County, and Chester County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate.[2]

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Jimmy Carter Democratic Georgia 825,879 55.94% 10 Walter Mondale Minnesota 10
Gerald Ford Republican Michigan 633,969 42.94% 0 Bob Dole Kansas 0
Thomas J. Anderson Independent Tennessee 5,769 0.39% 0 Rufus Shackelford Florida 0
Eugene McCarthy Independent Minnesota 5,004 0.34% 0 0
Lester Maddox Independent Georgia 2,303 0.16% 0 William Dyke Wisconsin 0
Roger MacBride Independent Virginia 1,375 0.09% 0 David Bergland California 0
Gus Hall Independent New York 547 0.04% 0 Jarvis Tyner New York 0
Lyndon LaRouche Independent New York 512 0.03% 0 R. Wayne Evans Michigan 0
Benjamin Bubar Independent Maine 442 0.03% 0 Earl Dodge Colorado 0
Ernest Miller Independent 316 0.02% 0 Roy Eddy 0
Write-ins 230 0.02% 0 0
Total 1,476,346 100% 10 10
Needed to win 270 270

Results by county

County James Earl Carter[3]
Democratic
Gerald Rudolph Ford[3]
Republican
Thomas Jefferson Anderson[3]
Independent
Eugene Joseph McCarthy[3]
Independent
Various candidates[3]
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Anderson 13,455 55.50% 10,494 43.29% 60 0.25% 150 0.62% 83 0.34% 2,961 12.21% 24,242
Bedford 7,228 69.79% 3,023 29.19% 41 0.40% 26 0.25% 39 0.38% 4,205 40.60% 10,357
Benton 4,088 70.41% 1,678 28.90% 21 0.36% 9 0.16% 10 0.17% 2,410 41.51% 5,806
Bledsoe 1,757 51.66% 1,620 47.63% 9 0.26% 7 0.21% 8 0.24% 137 4.03% 3,401
Blount 12,096 46.10% 13,851 52.79% 71 0.27% 92 0.35% 130 0.50% -1,755 -6.69% 26,240
Bradley 8,776 48.62% 9,136 50.61% 28 0.16% 42 0.23% 69 0.38% -360 -1.99% 18,051
Campbell 5,206 54.47% 4,277 44.75% 29 0.30% 15 0.16% 30 0.31% 929 9.72% 9,557
Cannon 2,463 72.46% 908 26.71% 15 0.44% 5 0.15% 8 0.24% 1,555 45.75% 3,399
Carroll 5,581 57.41% 4,031 41.47% 48 0.49% 19 0.20% 42 0.43% 1,550 15.94% 9,721
Carter 7,443 45.08% 8,934 54.11% 27 0.16% 58 0.35% 48 0.29% -1,491 -9.03% 16,510
Cheatham 4,225 74.59% 1,376 24.29% 30 0.53% 10 0.18% 23 0.41% 2,849 50.30% 5,664
Chester 2,532 56.05% 1,949 43.15% 14 0.31% 2 0.04% 20 0.44% 583 12.91% 4,517
Claiborne 3,461 51.33% 3,227 47.86% 19 0.28% 15 0.22% 21 0.31% 234 3.47% 6,743
Clay 1,671 62.40% 982 36.67% 14 0.52% 5 0.19% 6 0.22% 689 25.73% 2,678
Cocke 3,141 38.22% 5,004 60.88% 22 0.27% 22 0.27% 30 0.37% -1,863 -22.67% 8,219
Coffee 8,017 66.78% 3,848 32.05% 48 0.40% 55 0.46% 37 0.31% 4,169 34.73% 12,005
Crockett 2,963 63.08% 1,694 36.07% 15 0.32% 8 0.17% 17 0.36% 1,269 27.02% 4,697
Cumberland 4,543 51.84% 4,119 47.00% 42 0.48% 22 0.25% 37 0.42% 424 4.84% 8,763
Davidson 99,007 61.27% 60,662 37.54% 529 0.33% 785 0.49% 615 0.38% 38,345 23.73% 161,598
DeKalb 2,432 59.09% 1,637 39.77% 15 0.36% 12 0.29% 20 0.49% 795 19.31% 4,116
Decatur 3,222 68.52% 1,443 30.69% 9 0.19% 14 0.30% 14 0.30% 1,779 37.83% 4,702
Dickson 6,551 73.43% 2,285 25.61% 32 0.36% 15 0.17% 39 0.44% 4,266 47.81% 8,922
Dyer 5,937 56.66% 4,391 41.91% 56 0.53% 15 0.14% 79 0.75% 1,546 14.75% 10,478
Fayette 3,853 63.79% 2,133 35.31% 19 0.31% 11 0.18% 24 0.40% 1,720 28.48% 6,040
Fentress 1,953 51.97% 1,767 47.02% 11 0.29% 12 0.32% 15 0.40% 186 4.95% 3,758
Franklin 6,788 71.27% 2,619 27.50% 27 0.28% 37 0.39% 53 0.56% 4,169 43.77% 9,524
Gibson 10,356 64.60% 5,563 34.70% 42 0.26% 30 0.19% 40 0.25% 4,793 29.90% 16,031
Giles 5,225 72.09% 1,952 26.93% 22 0.30% 25 0.34% 24 0.33% 3,273 45.16% 7,248
Grainger 2,018 41.50% 2,805 57.68% 12 0.25% 10 0.21% 18 0.37% -787 -16.18% 4,863
Greene 7,070 44.52% 8,664 54.56% 53 0.33% 50 0.31% 43 0.27% -1,594 -10.04% 15,880
Grundy 2,850 76.59% 850 22.84% 12 0.32% 2 0.05% 7 0.19% 2,000 53.75% 3,721
Hamblen 7,504 51.30% 6,989 47.78% 49 0.33% 35 0.24% 51 0.35% 515 3.52% 14,628
Hamilton 45,348 48.03% 47,969 50.80% 306 0.32% 304 0.32% 494 0.52% -2,621 -2.78% 94,421
Hancock 764 36.56% 1,309 62.63% 7 0.33% 1 0.05% 9 0.43% -545 -26.08% 2,090
Hardeman 3,934 62.74% 2,254 35.95% 25 0.40% 13 0.21% 44 0.70% 1,680 26.79% 6,270
Hardin 3,438 50.18% 3,362 49.07% 9 0.13% 13 0.19% 30 0.44% 76 1.11% 6,852
Hawkins 5,931 47.78% 6,407 51.62% 24 0.19% 15 0.12% 35 0.28% -476 -3.83% 12,412
Haywood 3,681 65.02% 1,952 34.48% 13 0.23% 5 0.09% 10 0.18% 1,729 30.54% 5,661
Henderson 3,366 44.37% 4,152 54.73% 20 0.26% 13 0.17% 35 0.46% -786 -10.36% 7,586
Henry 7,162 72.48% 2,585 26.16% 87 0.88% 17 0.17% 30 0.30% 4,577 46.32% 9,881
Hickman 3,590 74.99% 1,154 24.11% 28 0.58% 8 0.17% 7 0.15% 2,436 50.89% 4,787
Houston 1,990 81.99% 407 16.77% 10 0.41% 8 0.33% 12 0.49% 1,583 65.22% 2,427
Humphreys 4,021 74.28% 1,338 24.72% 25 0.46% 16 0.30% 13 0.24% 2,683 49.57% 5,413
Jackson 2,959 82.91% 591 16.56% 4 0.11% 9 0.25% 6 0.17% 2,368 66.35% 3,569
Jefferson 3,995 41.89% 5,459 57.23% 26 0.27% 26 0.27% 32 0.34% -1,464 -15.35% 9,538
Johnson 1,464 32.69% 2,986 66.68% 11 0.25% 6 0.13% 11 0.25% -1,522 -33.99% 4,478
Knox 53,034 48.03% 56,013 50.73% 367 0.33% 600 0.54% 395 0.36% -2,979 -2.70% 110,409
Lake 1,933 75.83% 591 23.19% 6 0.24% 4 0.16% 15 0.59% 1,342 52.65% 2,549
Lauderdale 4,747 69.03% 2,105 30.61% 15 0.22% 4 0.06% 6 0.09% 2,642 38.42% 6,877
Lawrence 7,140 58.57% 4,967 40.75% 33 0.27% 24 0.20% 26 0.21% 2,173 17.83% 12,190
Lewis 2,391 78.75% 617 20.32% 11 0.36% 8 0.26% 9 0.30% 1,774 58.43% 3,036
Lincoln 5,732 76.24% 1,724 22.93% 31 0.41% 14 0.19% 17 0.23% 4,008 53.31% 7,518
Loudon 4,683 50.72% 4,458 48.28% 36 0.39% 16 0.17% 40 0.43% 225 2.44% 9,233
Macon 1,951 48.16% 2,063 50.93% 21 0.52% 9 0.22% 7 0.17% -112 -2.76% 4,051
Madison 12,989 52.67% 11,364 46.08% 119 0.48% 64 0.26% 123 0.50% 1,625 6.59% 24,659
Marion 4,615 60.39% 2,965 38.80% 16 0.21% 8 0.10% 38 0.50% 1,650 21.59% 7,642
Marshall 4,457 71.78% 1,674 26.96% 53 0.85% 9 0.14% 16 0.26% 2,783 44.82% 6,209
Maury 8,747 61.32% 5,327 37.34% 91 0.64% 41 0.29% 59 0.41% 3,420 23.97% 14,265
McMinn 7,020 51.12% 6,638 48.34% 17 0.12% 21 0.15% 36 0.26% 382 2.78% 13,732
McNairy 4,293 55.49% 3,388 43.80% 17 0.22% 6 0.08% 32 0.41% 905 11.70% 7,736
Meigs 1,254 55.93% 975 43.49% 1 0.04% 6 0.27% 6 0.27% 279 12.44% 2,242
Monroe 5,368 49.91% 5,335 49.60% 14 0.13% 10 0.09% 29 0.27% 33 0.31% 10,756
Montgomery 12,310 66.73% 5,923 32.11% 66 0.36% 70 0.38% 79 0.43% 6,387 34.62% 18,448
Moore 1,101 76.04% 331 22.86% 7 0.48% 2 0.14% 7 0.48% 770 53.18% 1,448
Morgan 2,953 59.79% 1,949 39.46% 15 0.30% 11 0.22% 11 0.22% 1,004 20.33% 4,939
Obion 7,204 69.81% 2,986 28.93% 67 0.65% 19 0.18% 44 0.43% 4,218 40.87% 10,320
Overton 3,897 77.21% 1,115 22.09% 12 0.24% 2 0.04% 21 0.42% 2,782 55.12% 5,047
Perry 1,660 75.42% 520 23.63% 6 0.27% 6 0.27% 9 0.41% 1,140 51.79% 2,201
Pickett 948 48.77% 986 50.72% 2 0.10% 3 0.15% 5 0.26% -38 -1.95% 1,944
Polk 3,284 63.71% 1,835 35.60% 14 0.27% 9 0.17% 13 0.25% 1,449 28.11% 5,155
Putnam 8,485 66.77% 4,079 32.10% 34 0.27% 60 0.47% 50 0.39% 4,406 34.67% 12,708
Rhea 3,735 51.58% 3,449 47.63% 19 0.26% 11 0.15% 27 0.37% 286 3.95% 7,241
Roane 9,216 55.89% 7,121 43.18% 48 0.29% 51 0.31% 55 0.33% 2,095 12.70% 16,491
Robertson 7,547 74.62% 2,505 24.77% 36 0.36% 15 0.15% 11 0.11% 5,042 49.85% 10,114
Rutherford 14,854 64.35% 7,921 34.32% 95 0.41% 107 0.46% 105 0.45% 6,933 30.04% 23,082
Scott 2,260 47.78% 2,432 51.42% 13 0.27% 14 0.30% 11 0.23% -172 -3.64% 4,730
Sequatchie 1,733 60.98% 1,065 37.47% 22 0.77% 7 0.25% 15 0.53% 668 23.50% 2,842
Sevier 3,993 33.80% 7,608 64.40% 102 0.86% 49 0.41% 62 0.52% -3,615 -30.60% 11,814
Shelby 147,893 52.89% 128,646 46.01% 652 0.23% 1,086 0.39% 1,324 0.47% 19,247 6.88% 279,601
Smith 3,753 73.07% 1,332 25.93% 28 0.55% 7 0.14% 16 0.31% 2,421 47.14% 5,136
Stewart 2,442 82.17% 510 17.16% 4 0.13% 5 0.17% 11 0.37% 1,932 65.01% 2,972
Sullivan 23,353 49.94% 22,087 47.23% 1,003 2.14% 164 0.35% 155 0.33% 1,266 2.71% 46,762
Sumner 13,848 62.91% 7,946 36.10% 102 0.46% 61 0.28% 55 0.25% 5,902 26.81% 22,012
Tipton 5,667 62.47% 3,329 36.70% 31 0.34% 19 0.21% 26 0.29% 2,338 25.77% 9,072
Trousdale 1,385 80.24% 332 19.24% 3 0.17% 2 0.12% 4 0.23% 1,053 61.01% 1,726
Unicoi 2,526 43.69% 3,211 55.53% 15 0.26% 16 0.28% 14 0.24% -685 -11.85% 5,782
Union 1,631 47.18% 1,801 52.10% 6 0.17% 10 0.29% 9 0.26% -170 -4.92% 3,457
Van Buren 1,085 75.24% 346 23.99% 3 0.21% 2 0.14% 6 0.42% 739 51.25% 1,442
Warren 6,666 73.13% 2,364 25.94% 27 0.30% 22 0.24% 36 0.39% 4,302 47.20% 9,115
Washington 13,951 48.05% 14,770 50.87% 84 0.29% 114 0.39% 113 0.39% -819 -2.82% 29,032
Wayne 1,891 41.92% 2,597 57.57% 10 0.22% 8 0.18% 5 0.11% -706 -15.65% 4,511
Weakley 6,605 68.12% 2,875 29.65% 173 1.78% 23 0.24% 20 0.21% 3,730 38.47% 9,696
White 3,874 72.90% 1,382 26.01% 31 0.58% 19 0.36% 8 0.15% 2,492 46.89% 5,314
Williamson 8,183 50.31% 7,880 48.44% 114 0.70% 54 0.33% 35 0.22% 303 1.86% 16,266
Wilson 10,537 68.59% 4,696 30.57% 52 0.34% 48 0.31% 29 0.19% 5,841 38.02% 15,362
Totals825,87955.94%633,96942.94%5,7690.39%5,0040.34%5,7250.39%191,91013.00%1,476,346

References

  1. "1976 Presidential General Election Results - Tennessee". Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  3. Our Campaigns; TN US President Race, November 02, 1976
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