1908 United States presidential election in Tennessee

none June 2025 September 2023 1908 United States presidential election 1908 United States presidential election in Tennessee Tennessee 1905 presidential no 1904 United States presidential election in Tennessee 1904 1912 United States presidential election in Tennessee 1912 November 3, 1908 x200px Unsuccessful 1908.jpg William Jennings Bryan Democratic Party (United States) Nebraska John W. Kern 12 135,608 52.73% William Howard Taft, Bain bw photo portrait, 1908.jpg William Howard Taft Republican Party (United States) Ohio James S. Sherman 0 117,977 45.87% 350px County results Bryan #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645b4 80–90% #002b84 90–100% Taft #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% #800000 90–100% President Theodore Roosevelt Republican Party (United States) William Howard Taft Republican Party (United States) The 1908 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 3, 1908. All contemporary 46 states were part of the 1908 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the 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 WayneWright, John K.; ‘Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps’; Geographical Review, vol. 22, no. 4 (October 1932), pp. 666-672 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.Lyons, William; Scheb (II), John M. and Stair Billy; Government and Politics in Tennessee, pp. 183-184 1572331410 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 9780691163246 the Democratic Party was certain of winning statewide elections if united,Grantham, Dewey W.; ‘Tennessee and Twentieth-Century American Politics’; Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Fall 1995), pp. 210-229 although unlike the Deep South Republicans would almost always gain thirty to forty percent of the statewide vote from mountain and Highland Rim support. Tennessee was won by the Democratic nominees, former Representative William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and his running mate John W. Kern of Indiana. They defeated the Republican Party nominees, William Howard Taft and his running mate James S. Sherman of New York. Bryan won the state by a margin of 6.86%. In October 1908, Taft would in October become the first Republican candidate to tour the South, visiting Tennessee and North Carolina.Tindall, George B.; ‘Southern Strategy: A Historical Perspective’; North Carolina Historical Review; vol. 48, no. 2 (April 1971), pp. 126-141 Aided by opposition by developing manufacturers to Bryan's populism, and by his willingness to accept black disfranchisement,de Santis, Vincent P.; ‘Republican Efforts to “Crack” the Democratic South’; The Review of Politics, vol. 14, no. 2 (April 1952), pp. 244-264 Taft gained noticeably given the extremely deep-rooted partisan loyalties established by the Civil War. Whereas Theodore Roosevelt had lost Tennessee by 10.83 percent in 1904, Taft, although doing worse nationally, lost only by 6.86 percentage points. Bryan had previously won Tennessee against William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900. Results 1908 United States presidential election in TennesseeDave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; Presidential General Election Results – TennesseePartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic William Jennings Bryan 135,608 52.73% 12 Republican William Howard Taft 117,977 45.87% 0 Social Democratic Eugene V. Debs 1,870 0.73% 0 Populist Thomas E. Watson 1,092 0.42% 0 Independence Thomas L. Hisgen 332 0.13% 0 Prohibition Eugene W. Chafin 301 0.12% 0 Totals 257,180 100.00% 12 Voter turnout — Results by county 1908 United States presidential election in Tennessee by countyGéoelections http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1908.htm Popular Vote at the Presidential Election for 1908 (.xlsx file for €30 including full minor party figures)CountyWilliam Jennings BryanDemocraticWilliam Howard TaftRepublicanEugene V. DebsSocialistThomas E. WatsonPopulistVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votescast # % # % # % # % # % # % Anderson 632 23.64% 2,022 75.65% 15 0.56% 2 0.07% 2 0.07% -1,390 -52.00% 2,673 Bedford 1,996 57.91% 1,446 41.95% 3 0.09% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 550 15.96% 3,447 Benton 1,221 57.06% 860 40.19% 6 0.28% 53 2.48% 0 0.00% 361 16.87% 2,140 Bledsoe 295 40.75% 425 58.70% 1 0.14% 3 0.41% 0 0.00% -130 -17.96% 724 Blount 847 24.67% 2,568 74.80% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 18 0.52% -1,721 -50.13% 3,433 Bradley 620 36.17% 1,063 62.02% 18 1.05% 9 0.53% 4 0.23% -443 -25.85% 1,714 Campbell 530 21.99% 1,806 74.94% 30 1.24% 6 0.25% 38 1.58% -1,276 -52.95% 2,410 Cannon 904 57.18% 672 42.50% 0 0.00% 4 0.25% 1 0.06% 232 14.67% 1,581 Carroll 1,802 43.10% 2,290 54.77% 18 0.43% 71 1.70% 0 0.00% -488 -11.67% 4,181 Carter 459 12.70% 3,152 87.19% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 4 0.11% -2,693 -74.50% 3,615 Cheatham 1,206 69.55% 526 30.33% 2 0.12% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 680 39.22% 1,734 Chester 703 50.79% 577 41.69% 10 0.72% 94 6.79% 0 0.00% 126 9.10% 1,384 Claiborne 971 36.96% 1,637 62.31% 0 0.00% 14 0.53% 5 0.19% -666 -25.35% 2,627 Clay 764 54.07% 634 44.87% 4 0.28% 10 0.71% 1 0.07% 130 9.20% 1,413 Cocke 688 27.93% 1,749 71.01% 6 0.24% 11 0.45% 9 0.37% -1,061 -43.08% 2,463 Coffee 1,654 70.50% 656 27.96% 30 1.28% 1 0.04% 5 0.21% 998 42.54% 2,346 Crockett 1,226 50.43% 1,205 49.57% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 21 0.86% 2,431 Cumberland 479 32.17% 1,010 67.83% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -531 -35.66% 1,489 Davidson 8,309 73.98% 2,721 24.23% 157 1.40% 18 0.16% 27 0.24% 5,588 49.75% 11,232 DeKalb 1,284 46.66% 1,464 53.20% 2 0.07% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% -180 -6.54% 2,752 Decatur 845 46.87% 958 53.13% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -113 -6.27% 1,803 Dickson 1,499 60.76% 899 36.44% 56 2.27% 11 0.45% 2 0.08% 600 24.32% 2,467 Dyer 1,786 71.87% 672 27.04% 20 0.80% 7 0.28% 0 0.00% 1,114 44.83% 2,485 Fayette 1,849 98.88% 4 0.21% 3 0.16% 14 0.75% 0 0.00% 1,835In this county where Watson ran second ahead of Taft, margin given is Bryan vote minus Watson vote and percentage margin Bryan percentage minus Watson percentage. 98.13% 1,870 Fentress 332 26.95% 894 72.56% 6 0.49% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -562 -45.62% 1,232 Franklin 2,168 74.71% 716 24.67% 15 0.52% 1 0.03% 2 0.07% 1,452 50.03% 2,902 Gibson 3,173 69.39% 1,369 29.94% 3 0.07% 26 0.57% 2 0.04% 1,804 39.45% 4,573 Giles 3,042 65.87% 1,571 34.02% 0 0.00% 5 0.11% 0 0.00% 1,471 31.85% 4,618 Grainger 673 33.77% 1,309 65.68% 0 0.00% 5 0.25% 6 0.30% -636 -31.91% 1,993 Greene 1,886 48.08% 2,027 51.67% 1 0.03% 2 0.05% 7 0.18% -141 -3.59% 3,923 Grundy 576 58.72% 261 26.61% 134 13.66% 10 1.02% 0 0.00% 315 32.11% 981 Hamblen 795 44.34% 991 55.27% 1 0.06% 3 0.17% 3 0.17% -196 -10.93% 1,793 Hamilton 4,564 50.08% 4,250 46.64% 208 2.28% 12 0.13% 79 0.87% 314 3.45% 9,113 Hancock 370 20.95% 1,396 79.05% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,026 -58.10% 1,766 Hardeman 1,568 72.32% 553 25.51% 14 0.65% 33 1.52% 0 0.00% 1,015 46.82% 2,168 Hardin 720 37.72% 1,132 59.30% 9 0.47% 42 2.20% 6 0.31% -412 -21.58% 1,909 Hawkins 1,152 40.49% 1,693 59.51% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -541 -19.02% 2,845 Haywood 1,215 84.91% 189 13.21% 27 1.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,026 71.70% 1,431 Henderson 900 43.48% 1,148 55.46% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 22 1.06% -248 -11.98% 2,070 Henry 2,369 68.15% 1,069 30.75% 18 0.52% 10 0.29% 10 0.29% 1,300 37.40% 3,476 Hickman 1,285 54.15% 1,065 44.88% 18 0.76% 4 0.17% 1 0.04% 220 9.27% 2,373 Houston 665 68.00% 288 29.45% 25 2.56% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 377 38.55% 978 Humphreys 1,301 65.25% 679 34.05% 14 0.70% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 622 31.19% 1,994 Jackson 1,404 59.14% 966 40.69% 2 0.08% 2 0.08% 0 0.00% 438 18.45% 2,374 James 217 26.27% 608 73.61% 1 0.12% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -391 -47.34% 826 Jefferson 662 25.00% 1,962 74.09% 0 0.00% 4 0.15% 20 0.76% -1,300 -49.09% 2,648 Johnson 232 9.74% 2,148 90.21% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 0.04% -1,916 -80.47% 2,381 Knox 4,090 39.77% 5,817 56.56% 159 1.55% 39 0.38% 180 1.75% -1,727 -16.79% 10,285 Lake 464 71.27% 178 27.34% 9 1.38% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 286 43.93% 651 Lauderdale 1,315 70.85% 519 27.96% 22 1.19% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 796 42.89% 1,856 Lawrence 1,591 47.78% 1,725 51.80% 12 0.36% 0 0.00% 2 0.06% -134 -4.02% 3,330 Lewis 465 56.64% 354 43.12% 2 0.24% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 111 13.52% 821 Lincoln 2,311 75.03% 692 22.47% 4 0.13% 64 2.08% 9 0.29% 1,619 52.56% 3,080 Loudon 444 30.62% 986 68.00% 5 0.34% 5 0.34% 10 0.69% -542 -37.38% 1,450 Macon 684 29.67% 1,594 69.15% 3 0.13% 24 1.04% 0 0.00% -910 -39.48% 2,305 Madison 2,409 61.98% 1,357 34.91% 45 1.16% 75 1.93% 1 0.03% 1,052 27.06% 3,887 Marion 842 43.18% 1,074 55.08% 29 1.49% 3 0.15% 2 0.10% -232 -11.90% 1,950 Marshall 1,544 74.77% 440 21.31% 4 0.19% 71 3.44% 6 0.29% 1,104 53.46% 2,065 Maury 2,324 77.91% 620 20.78% 11 0.37% 22 0.74% 6 0.20% 1,704 57.12% 2,983 McMinn 926 40.90% 1,320 58.30% 0 0.00% 13 0.57% 5 0.22% -394 -17.40% 2,264 McNairy 1,057 44.10% 1,300 54.23% 0 0.00% 37 1.54% 3 0.13% -243 -10.14% 2,397 Meigs 464 50.16% 457 49.41% 0 0.00% 4 0.43% 0 0.00% 7 0.76% 925 Monroe 1,406 43.38% 1,827 56.37% 8 0.25% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -421 -12.99% 3,241 Montgomery 2,961 60.17% 1,903 38.67% 17 0.35% 28 0.57% 12 0.24% 1,058 21.50% 4,921 Moore 677 86.35% 103 13.14% 0 0.00% 3 0.38% 1 0.13% 574 73.21% 784 Morgan 496 28.54% 1,236 71.12% 1 0.06% 0 0.00% 5 0.29% -740 -42.58% 1,738 Obion 2,258 75.52% 711 23.78% 10 0.33% 0 0.00% 11 0.37% 1,547 51.74% 2,990 Overton 1,401 56.63% 1,008 40.74% 65 2.63% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 393 15.89% 2,474 Perry 756 52.28% 678 46.89% 12 0.83% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 78 5.39% 1,446 Pickett 391 43.06% 517 56.94% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -126 -13.88% 908 Polk 747 38.87% 1,175 61.13% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -428 -22.27% 1,922 Putnam 1,632 53.35% 1,419 46.39% 5 0.16% 0 0.00% 3 0.10% 213 6.96% 3,059 Rhea 883 46.74% 995 52.67% 4 0.21% 2 0.11% 5 0.26% -112 -5.93% 1,889 Roane 595 26.23% 1,524 67.20% 113 4.98% 18 0.79% 18 0.79% -929 -40.96% 2,268 Robertson 2,418 75.85% 755 23.68% 6 0.19% 7 0.22% 2 0.06% 1,663 52.16% 3,188 Rutherford 2,764 69.27% 1,226 30.73% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,538 38.55% 3,990 Scott 190 8.85% 1,932 89.99% 25 1.16% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,742 -81.14% 2,147 Sequatchie 394 61.28% 249 38.72% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 145 22.55% 643 Sevier 291 8.50% 3,130 91.44% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -2,839 -82.94% 3,423 Shelby 7,411 68.90% 3,069 28.53% 239 2.22% 14 0.13% 23 0.21% 4,342 40.37% 10,756 Smith 1,638 59.13% 1,056 38.12% 0 0.00% 69 2.49% 7 0.25% 582 21.01% 2,770 Stewart 1,475 64.49% 715 31.26% 97 4.24% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 760 33.23% 2,287 Sullivan 2,393 56.16% 1,836 43.09% 2 0.05% 11 0.26% 19 0.45% 557 13.07% 4,261 Sumner 2,343 76.97% 673 22.11% 11 0.36% 12 0.39% 5 0.16% 1,670 54.86% 3,044 Tipton 1,662 60.99% 1,041 38.20% 3 0.11% 18 0.66% 1 0.04% 621 22.79% 2,725 Trousdale 476 70.00% 198 29.12% 0 0.00% 6 0.88% 0 0.00% 278 40.88% 680 Unicoi 67 7.23% 860 92.77% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -793 -85.54% 927 Union 496 22.72% 1,684 77.14% 3 0.14% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -1,188 -54.42% 2,183 Van Buren 329 64.64% 176 34.58% 4 0.79% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 153 30.06% 509 Warren 1,573 67.51% 729 31.29% 19 0.82% 2 0.09% 7 0.30% 844 36.22% 2,330 Washington 1,574 41.04% 2,254 58.77% 4 0.10% 1 0.03% 2 0.05% -680 -17.73% 3,835 Wayne 451 24.21% 1,411 75.74% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 0.05% -960 -51.53% 1,863 Weakley 2,976 61.42% 1,812 37.40% 17 0.35% 29 0.60% 11 0.23% 1,164 24.02% 4,845 White 1,572 64.88% 835 34.46% 16 0.66% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 737 30.42% 2,423 Williamson 1,928 75.28% 605 23.62% 5 0.20% 23 0.90% 0 0.00% 1,323 51.66% 2,561 Wilson 2,212 70.99% 902 28.95% 0 0.00% 2 0.06% 0 0.00% 1,310 42.04% 3,116Totals135,60452.73%117,97745.87%1,8700.73%1,0920.42%6330.25%17,6276.85%257,176 See also 1908 Tennessee gubernatorial election United States presidential elections in Tennessee Notes References 2 Tennessee 1908 Category:1908 Tennessee elections