1984 United States Senate election in Tennessee

For related races, see 1984 United States Senate elections.

1984 United States Senate election in Tennessee
November 6, 1984
 
Nominee Al Gore Victor Ashe Ed McAteer
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Popular vote 1,000,607 557,016 87,234
Percentage 60.72% 33.80% 5.29%
County results
Gore:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Ashe:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Howard Baker
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Al Gore
Democratic

The 1984 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 1984, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Popular three-term Republican incumbent Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Majority Leader since 1981 (Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981) decided not to seek re-election in order to concentrate on a planned bid for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination (which did not happen, as he later accepted a White House Chief of Staff position under President Ronald Reagan). This left the seat open.

In the general election, Democratic candidate Al Gore, son of former senator Albert Gore Sr., won easily, flipping the Republican held seat to Democratic hands.

Democratic Primary

Democrats nominated Representative and future Vice President Al Gore, whose father, Albert Gore, Sr., had once held Tennessee's other Senate seat.

Results

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Al Gore 476,582 100.00%
Total votes 476,582 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

In the primary, held on August 2, Ashe easily emerged as a winner.

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Victor Ashe 145,744 86.47%
Republican Jack McNeil 17,970 10.66%
Republican Herbert David Patty 4,777 2.83%
Republican Write-in 49 0.03%
Total votes 168,540 100%

General election

Although the Senate election coincided with the landslide re-election of President Reagan, who carried Tennessee by a wide margin, this time his victory did not have any coattails, as it did in 1980, and Democrats picked up three Republican seats. One of the Democratic gains was in Tennessee, where conservative Democrat Gore won in a landslide:[2]

General election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Al Gore 1,000,607 60.72%
Republican Victor Ashe 557,016 33.80%
Independent Ed McAteer 87,234 5.29%
Independent Khalil-Ullah Al-Muhaymin 3,179 0.19%
Total votes 1,648,036 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

By county

County[3] Albert Gore, Jr.
Democratic 		Victor Ashe
Republican 		Others
Independent 		Margin Total
votes
% # % # % #
Anderson 61.0% 15,971 35.7% 9,348 3.2% 846 6,623 26,165
Bedford 79.4% 7,075 19.1% 1,702 1.5% 135 5,373 8,912
Benton 77.4% 4,573 20.6% 1,214 2.0% 120 3,359 5,907
Bledsoe 51.3% 1,749 45.5% 1,554 3.2% 109 195 3,412
Blount 46.5% 13,431 45.2% 13,068 8.3% 2,409 363 28,908
Bradley 41.9% 9,444 53.6% 12,086 4.6% 1,035 -2,642 22,565
Campbell 59.1% 5,827 39.4% 3,887 1.5% 150 1,940 9,864
Cannon 80.7% 2,825 17.9% 627 1.4% 48 2,198 3,500
Carroll 63.5% 6,520 34.1% 3,504 2.4% 250 3,016 10,274
Carter 42.5% 6,906 49.2% 8,002 8.3% 1,347 -1,096 16,255
Cheatham 71.9% 5,071 24.2% 1,708 3.9% 274 3,363 7,053
Chester 58.9% 2,643 35.8% 1,605 5.3% 237 1,038 4,485
Claiborne 53.0% 3,662 45.6% 3,145 1.4% 97 517 6,904
Clay 69.5% 1,795 30.1% 778 0.3% 8 1,017 2,581
Cocke 38.0% 3,113 59.2% 4,848 2.8% 231 -1,735 8,192
Coffee 72.1% 9,522 25.9% 3,416 2.1% 274 6,106 13,212
Crockett 63.2% 2,772 31.0% 1,360 5.7% 251 1,412 4,383
Cumberland 54.5% 5,793 43.2% 4,594 2.3% 248 1,199 10,635
Davidson 72.7% 132,696 23.7% 43,309 3.6% 6,497 89,387 182,502
Decatur 65.8% 2,786 29.4% 1,243 4.8% 204 1,543 4,233
DeKalb 80.6% 3,922 18.7% 909 0.8% 38 3,013 4,869
Dickson 76.6% 8,668 20.9% 2,369 2.5% 283 6,299 11,320
Dyer 59.6% 6,166 35.8% 3,702 4.7% 483 2,464 10,351
Fayette 62.1% 4,577 32.1% 2,364 5.8% 426 2,213 7,367
Fentress 61.3% 2,791 37.9% 1,725 0.7% 34 1,066 4,550
Franklin 76.9% 8,534 21.8% 2,419 1.4% 151 6,115 11,104
Gibson 69.3% 11,729 27.1% 4,579 3.7% 618 7,150 16,926
Giles 73.2% 5,240 25.2% 1,805 1.6% 115 3,435 7,160
Grainger 43.8% 2,010 52.8% 2,424 3.5% 160 -414 4,594
Greene 40.1% 7,056 46.1% 8,106 13.8% 2,435 -1,050 17,597
Grundy 78.0% 2,993 19.4% 746 2.6% 100 2,247 3,839
Hamblen 47.6% 7,452 42.3% 6,628 10.1% 1,583 824 15,663
Hamilton 49.2% 54,623 43.8% 48,548 7.0% 7,742 6,075 110,913
Hancock 41.3% 783 56.3% 1,068 2.4% 45 -285 1,896
Hardeman 63.5% 4,494 26.2% 1,854 10.3% 725 2,640 7,073
Hardin 60.8% 4,504 36.3% 2,685 2.9% 213 1,819 7,402
Hawkins 45.9% 6,413 46.8% 6,540 7.3% 1,027 -127 13,980
Haywood 65.8% 4,005 24.7% 1,506 9.4% 574 2,499 6,085
Henderson 58.9% 4,423 37.9% 2,843 3.2% 241 1,580 7,507
Henry 72.8% 7,426 25.1% 2,563 2.1% 218 4,863 10,207
Hickman 75.9% 3,983 22.1% 1,161 1.9% 102 2,822 5,246
Houston 80.9% 2,077 15.7% 402 3.5% 89 1,675 2,568
Humphreys 81.4% 4,780 16.7% 980 1.9% 109 3,800 5,869
Jackson 87.9% 3,971 11.0% 496 1.1% 50 3,475 4,517
Jefferson 45.2% 4,733 49.2% 5,148 5.6% 581 -415 10,462
Johnson 34.2% 1,563 63.5% 2,900 2.2% 101 -1,337 4,564
Knox 54.7% 65,091 39.7% 47,269 5.6% 6,632 17,822 118,992
Lake 72.4% 1,312 25.1% 454 2.5% 46 858 1,812
Lauderdale 69.1% 4,893 26.8% 1,894 4.1% 290 2,999 7,077
Lawrence 63.1% 7,359 35.4% 4,126 1.5% 171 3,233 11,656
Lewis 77.2% 2,424 21.2% 665 1.6% 49 1,759 3,138
Lincoln 76.7% 5,606 20.6% 1,505 2.7% 201 4,101 7,312
Loudon 50.5% 5,190 45.1% 4,631 4.4% 452 559 10,273
Macon 74.0% 3,770 25.4% 1,296 0.6% 32 2,474 5,098
Madison 62.8% 18,791 28.9% 8,637 8.3% 2,483 10,154 29,911
Marion 63.0% 5,399 35.2% 3,016 1.9% 159 2,383 8,574
Marshall 76.0% 4,717 22.2% 1,378 1.8% 113 3,339 6,208
Maury 71.8% 10,990 26.4% 4,042 1.8% 277 6,948 15,309
McMinn 49.5% 7,478 47.4% 7,169 3.1% 462 309 15,109
McNairy 61.3% 5,121 35.4% 2,961 3.3% 275 2,160 8,357
Meigs 51.7% 1,270 46.1% 1,133 2.2% 54 137 2,457
Monroe 50.2% 5,408 47.9% 5,159 1.9% 209 249 10,776
Montgomery 67.4% 14,946 27.1% 6,013 5.5% 1,212 8,933 22,171
Moore 79.0% 1,294 19.8% 324 1.3% 21 970 1,639
Morgan 61.8% 3,001 36.0% 1,747 2.3% 110 1,254 4,858
Obion 57.9% 5,903 37.8% 3,853 4.4% 444 2,050 10,200
Overton 81.8% 4,089 17.3% 864 0.9% 46 3,225 4,999
Perry 80.0% 1,783 18.3% 408 1.7% 38 1,375 2,229
Pickett 57.8% 1,087 41.7% 784 0.5% 9 303 1,880
Polk 55.4% 2,678 43.2% 2,091 1.4% 69 587 4,838
Putnam 75.1% 12,183 22.4% 3,638 2.4% 392 8,545 16,213
Rhea 44.6% 3,674 45.2% 3,730 10.2% 841 -56 8,245
Roane 56.6% 9,914 39.3% 6,897 4.1% 719 3,017 17,530
Robertson 77.3% 8,403 20.2% 2,201 2.5% 268 6,202 10,872
Rutherford 73.1% 21,737 23.0% 6,852 3.9% 1,157 14,885 29,746
Scott 55.3% 2,499 42.5% 1,923 2.2% 101 576 4,523
Sequatchie 55.6% 1,616 41.8% 1,215 2.6% 75 401 2,906
Sevier 37.0% 5,652 53.9% 8,235 9.2% 1,400 -2,583 15,287
Shelby 59.6% 187,944 32.6% 102,831 7.8% 24,506 85,113 315,281
Smith 88.5% 5,107 11.0% 633 0.6% 33 4,474 5,773
Stewart 78.2% 2,591 20.1% 666 1.7% 55 1,925 3,312
Sullivan 49.4% 25,537 39.3% 20,289 11.3% 5,858 5,248 51,684
Sumner 73.2% 21,292 23.9% 6,954 2.9% 840 14,338 29,086
Tipton 60.6% 6,072 33.8% 3,391 5.6% 564 2,681 10,027
Trousdale 87.9% 1,706 11.1% 215 1.0% 19 1,491 1,940
Unicoi 43.9% 2,460 46.6% 2,616 9.5% 533 -156 5,609
Union 51.3% 1,946 46.3% 1,758 2.4% 91 188 3,795
Van Buren 78.7% 1,167 21.0% 311 0.3% 4 856 1,482
Warren 76.7% 7,272 20.6% 1,949 2.7% 259 5,323 9,480
Washington 49.6% 14,915 39.4% 11,859 10.9% 3,292 3,056 30,066
Wayne 48.5% 2,154 50.1% 2,223 1.4% 61 -69 4,438
Weakley 65.0% 7,277 30.8% 3,444 4.2% 474 3,833 11,195
White 78.1% 4,751 20.5% 1,245 1.4% 85 3,506 6,081
Williamson 59.1% 14,286 34.9% 8,442 5.9% 1,428 5,844 24,156
Wilson 75.2% 15,762 22.4% 4,702 2.3% 491 11,060 20,955
Total 60.7% 1,000,607 33.8% 557,016 5.5% 90,413 443,591 1,648,036

See also

References

  1. ^ "TN US Senate- R Primary Race - Aug 02, 1984". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "TN US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1984". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "1984 Election Results for Tennessee -- RightDataUSA.com". rightdatausa.com. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.