1844 United States presidential election in Tennessee

The 1844 United States presidential election in Tennessee was held on November 5, 1844, as part of the 1844 United States presidential election.^[1] Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.

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1844 United States presidential election in Tennessee

← 1840 November 5, 1844 1848 â†’

← NY RI â†’

Nominee Henry Clay James K. Polk Party Whig Democratic Home state Kentucky Tennessee Running mate Theodore Frelinghuysen George M. Dallas Electoral vote 13 0 Popular vote 60,040 59,917 Percentage 50.05% 49.95%

County results Clay   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Polk   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Unknown/No vote

President before election John Tyler Independent Elected President James K. Polk Democratic

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Despite being Polk's home state and despite Polk previously serving as the state's governor, Tennessee voted for the Whig candidate, Henry Clay. Clay won Tennessee by a very narrow margin of 123 votes (0.10%), making it the closest state in the election.^[2] James K. Polk is the first of 4 presidents to lose their state of residence during a successful presidential bid. The others are Woodrow Wilson in 1916, Richard Nixon in 1968, and Donald Trump in 2016, and Polk is the only one of the four to do so without ever winning either their state of birth or residence in any presidential election.

This election marked the third time consecutively that Polk had lost a statewide election in Tennessee. The previous two were in the 1841 and 1843 gubernatorial elections.^[3][4]