1992 United States presidential election in Tennessee

For related races, see 1992 United States presidential election.

1992 United States presidential election in Tennessee

November 3, 1992

Nominee Bill Clinton George H. W. Bush Ross Perot Party Democratic Republican Independent Home state Arkansas Texas Texas Running mate Al Gore Dan Quayle James Stockdale Electoral vote 11 0 0 Popular vote 933,521 841,300 199,968 Percentage 47.08% 42.43% 10.09%

Clinton   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Bush   40–50%   50–60%

President before election George H. W. Bush Republican Elected President Bill Clinton Democratic

The 1992 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 3, 1992, as part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Tennessee was won by Governor Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) with 47.08% of the popular vote over incumbent President George H. W. Bush (R-Texas) with 42.43%. Businessman Ross Perot (I-Texas) finished in third, with 10.09% of the popular vote. Clinton ultimately won the national vote, defeating incumbent President Bush and Perot.

Clinton, from neighboring Arkansas, benefited from having the state's junior U.S. Senator Al Gore as his vice presidential running mate. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Rutherford County, Sumner County, Wilson County, Lincoln County, Claiborne County, Hardin County, Macon County, Bledsoe County, and Pickett County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.

Background

The Republican presidential nominee won Tennessee in every presidential election since 1968 except for Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter's victory in 1976.

Primary

Democratic

Paul Tsongas stated that he was only seeking a strong second-place result as he was campaigning with Bill Clinton's region. Jeff Clark, the director of Bob Kerrey's campaign in the state, criticized Democratic officials in the state for almost entirely endorsing Clinton, but Clark later endorsed Clinton himself.

Clinton selected Al Gore, one of Tennessee's two U.S. Senators, as his running mate.

Republican

Pat Buchanan only visited Tennessee once during the primary while George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle conducted a combined five visits.

General

Despite Clinton flipping 44 counties won by Bush four years prior, nearly half of the state's total 95, as of 2020, this would prove to be the final election in which a Democrat flipped any counties. The aforementioned nine counties would switch to Bob Dole in 1996, followed by 21 that flipped to George W. Bush in 2000. The 2000 election, when favorite son Al Gore was the Democratic Nominee, would prove to be the last even remotely competitive election in Tennessee. 19 more counties would be shed to George Bush in his 2004 re-election. In 2008, even as Barack Obama won soundly and the national popular vote swung nearly 10 points to the left, Tennessee bucked the trend and moved rightward. Obama lost 11 more counties, including Perry, which had not voted Republican since 1920, and Stewart, which had never previously voted Republican. Finally, Jackson and Houston counties (last voting Republican in 1920 and 1928, respectively) flipped to Mitt Romney in 2012 and Hardeman County flipped to Donald Trump in 2016. The trend may even continue beyond 2020, as in that election Shelby and Davidson counties remained safely Democratic but less populated Haywood County was the closest in the state, and one of only two counties won by under 10 points (the other being Hamilton).

The Democrats won their biggest majority since 1976 in the concurrent Tennessee House of Representatives elections.

Results

1992 United States presidential election in Tennessee
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Bill Clinton	933,521	47.08%	11
	Republican	George H. W. Bush (incumbent)	841,300	42.43%	0
	Independent	Ross Perot	199,968	10.09%	0
	Independent	Andre Marrou	1,847	0.09%	0
	Independent	J. Quinn Brisben	1,356	0.07%	0
	Independent	James "Bo" Gritz	756	0.04%	0
	Independent	Lenora Fulani	727	0.04%	0
	Independent	Dr. John Hagelin	599	0.03%	0
	Independent	Howard Phillips	579	0.03%	0
	Independent	Ron Daniels	511	0.03%	0
	Independent	Lyndon LaRouche	460	0.02%	0
	Independent	Earl Dodge	343	0.02%	0
	Independent	James Warren	277	0.01%	0
	Independent	John Yiamouyiannis	233	0.01%	0
	Write-ins		161	0.01%	0
Totals			1,982,638	100.0%	11

Results by county

County	Bill Clinton Democratic		George H.W. Bush Republican		Ross Perot Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Anderson	13,482	47.12%	11,838	41.38%	3,149	11.01%	142	0.50%	1,644	5.74%	28,611
Bedford	5,978	52.34%	3,836	33.59%	1,541	13.49%	66	0.58%	2,142	18.75%	11,421
Benton	3,896	63.72%	1,625	26.58%	559	9.14%	34	0.56%	2,271	37.14%	6,114
Bledsoe	1,884	46.89%	1,776	44.20%	352	8.76%	6	0.15%	108	2.69%	4,018
Blount	14,655	38.92%	18,415	48.91%	4,468	11.87%	113	0.30%	-3,760	-9.99%	37,651
Bradley	9,889	33.30%	16,528	55.66%	3,212	10.82%	67	0.23%	-6,639	-22.36%	29,696
Campbell	6,756	52.25%	4,897	37.87%	1,240	9.59%	38	0.29%	1,859	14.38%	12,931
Cannon	2,593	59.87%	1,229	28.38%	495	11.43%	14	0.32%	1,364	31.49%	4,331
Carroll	5,741	48.66%	4,842	41.04%	1,139	9.65%	77	0.65%	899	7.62%	11,799
Carter	6,502	33.88%	10,712	55.82%	1,898	9.89%	78	0.41%	-4,210	-21.94%	19,190
Cheatham	4,817	49.21%	3,496	35.72%	1,433	14.64%	42	0.43%	1,321	13.49%	9,788
Chester	2,317	41.40%	2,834	50.64%	439	7.84%	6	0.11%	-517	-9.24%	5,596
Claiborne	4,509	47.54%	4,065	42.86%	860	9.07%	51	0.54%	444	4.68%	9,485
Clay	1,922	59.58%	1,072	33.23%	223	6.91%	9	0.28%	850	26.35%	3,226
Cocke	3,495	34.95%	5,298	52.98%	1,124	11.24%	83	0.83%	-1,803	-18.03%	10,000
Coffee	8,534	50.07%	6,047	35.48%	2,420	14.20%	43	0.25%	2,487	14.59%	17,044
Crockett	2,657	49.60%	2,180	40.69%	507	9.46%	13	0.24%	477	8.91%	5,357
Cumberland	6,393	40.48%	7,116	45.06%	2,200	13.93%	83	0.53%	-723	-4.58%	15,792
Davidson	106,355	52.18%	76,567	37.57%	20,184	9.90%	701	0.34%	29,788	14.61%	203,807
Decatur	2,633	56.49%	1,667	35.76%	351	7.53%	10	0.21%	966	20.73%	4,661
DeKalb	4,382	65.19%	1,714	25.50%	608	9.04%	18	0.27%	2,668	39.69%	6,722
Dickson	7,863	55.79%	4,450	31.58%	1,730	12.28%	50	0.35%	3,413	24.21%	14,093
Dyer	5,845	45.71%	5,668	44.33%	1,241	9.71%	33	0.26%	177	1.38%	12,787
Fayette	4,211	48.91%	3,713	43.13%	657	7.63%	28	0.33%	498	5.78%	8,609
Fentress	2,730	47.40%	2,391	41.52%	606	10.52%	32	0.56%	339	5.88%	5,759
Franklin	7,773	54.83%	4,507	31.79%	1,837	12.96%	59	0.42%	3,266	23.04%	14,176
Gibson	9,555	52.12%	7,161	39.06%	1,536	8.38%	80	0.44%	2,394	13.06%	18,332
Giles	5,601	57.26%	2,827	28.90%	1,309	13.38%	44	0.45%	2,774	28.36%	9,781
Grainger	2,242	40.37%	2,772	49.92%	513	9.24%	26	0.47%	-530	-9.55%	5,553
Greene	7,857	37.64%	9,912	47.48%	2,930	14.04%	176	0.84%	-2,055	-9.84%	20,875
Grundy	2,997	68.33%	1,004	22.89%	366	8.34%	19	0.43%	1,993	45.44%	4,386
Hamblen	7,114	39.85%	8,898	49.84%	1,760	9.86%	82	0.46%	-1,784	-9.99%	17,854
Hamilton	46,770	40.64%	53,476	46.47%	14,400	12.51%	439	0.38%	-6,706	-5.83%	115,085
Hancock	1,000	40.83%	1,274	52.02%	151	6.17%	24	0.98%	-274	-11.19%	2,449
Hardeman	4,832	56.01%	3,122	36.19%	863	6.89%	79	0.92%	1,710	19.82%	8,627
Hardin	3,922	45.65%	3,875	45.10%	734	8.54%	61	0.71%	47	0.55%	8,592
Hawkins	6,623	40.67%	7,758	47.64%	1,847	11.34%	57	0.35%	-1,135	-6.97%	16,285
Haywood	3,511	55.07%	2,518	39.49%	331	5.19%	16	0.25%	993	15.58%	6,376
Henderson	3,502	38.81%	4,719	52.29%	785	8.70%	18	0.20%	-1,217	-13.48%	9,024
Henry	6,797	56.20%	3,661	30.27%	1,588	13.13%	49	0.41%	3,136	25.93%	12,095
Hickman	4,093	60.84%	1,820	27.06%	795	11.82%	19	0.28%	2,273	33.78%	6,727
Houston	2,012	68.18%	648	21.96%	280	9.49%	11	0.37%	1,364	46.22%	2,951
Humphreys	3,875	63.16%	1,641	26.75%	609	9.93%	10	0.16%	2,234	36.41%	6,135
Jackson	3,208	75.34%	708	16.63%	332	7.80%	10	0.23%	2,500	58.71%	4,258
Jefferson	4,740	38.34%	6,184	50.02%	1,385	11.20%	53	0.43%	-1,444	-11.68%	12,362
Johnson	1,781	32.02%	3,170	56.98%	574	10.32%	38	0.68%	-1,389	-24.96%	5,563
Knox	59,702	41.90%	66,607	46.75%	15,669	11.00%	498	0.35%	-6,905	-4.85%	142,476
Lake	1,449	62.84%	680	29.49%	151	6.55%	26	1.13%	769	33.35%	2,306
Lauderdale	4,452	55.94%	2,928	36.79%	561	7.05%	17	0.21%	1,524	19.15%	7,958
Lawrence	6,816	49.16%	5,608	40.45%	1,403	10.12%	37	0.27%	1,208	8.71%	13,864
Lewis	2,491	60.00%	1,218	29.34%	434	10.45%	9	0.22%	1,273	30.66%	4,152
Lincoln	5,063	49.15%	3,814	37.02%	1,371	13.31%	54	0.52%	1,249	12.13%	10,302
Loudon	5,414	40.07%	6,444	47.70%	1,602	11.86%	50	0.37%	-1,030	-7.63%	13,510
Macon	2,961	51.71%	2,299	40.15%	443	7.74%	23	0.40%	662	11.56%	5,726
Madison	13,629	43.69%	14,869	47.66%	2,634	8.44%	64	0.21%	-1,240	-3.97%	31,196
Marion	5,589	55.51%	3,262	32.40%	1,186	11.78%	31	0.31%	2,327	23.11%	10,068
Marshall	4,491	55.46%	2,516	31.07%	1,050	12.97%	41	0.51%	1,975	24.39%	8,098
Maury	9,997	48.86%	7,440	36.37%	2,821	13.79%	201	0.98%	2,557	12.49%	20,459
McMinn	6,682	41.79%	7,453	46.61%	1,812	11.33%	43	0.27%	-771	-4.82%	15,990
McNairy	4,691	48.89%	4,093	42.66%	774	8.07%	37	0.39%	598	6.23%	9,595
Meigs	1,673	48.02%	1,355	38.89%	453	13.00%	3	0.09%	318	9.13%	3,484
Monroe	5,384	43.38%	6,025	48.55%	936	7.54%	66	0.53%	-641	-5.17%	12,411
Montgomery	14,507	46.29%	13,011	41.51%	3,753	11.97%	70	0.22%	1,496	4.78%	31,341
Moore	1,151	53.66%	661	30.82%	327	15.24%	6	0.28%	490	22.84%	2,145
Morgan	3,190	51.58%	2,306	37.29%	658	10.64%	30	0.49%	884	14.29%	6,184
Obion	6,497	50.51%	4,812	37.41%	1,494	11.61%	61	0.47%	1,685	13.10%	12,864
Overton	4,489	67.49%	1,657	24.91%	468	7.04%	37	0.56%	2,832	42.58%	6,651
Perry	1,889	64.71%	708	24.25%	317	10.86%	5	0.17%	1,181	40.46%	2,919
Pickett	1,144	48.31%	1,094	46.20%	121	5.11%	9	0.38%	50	2.11%	2,368
Polk	2,583	56.03%	1,584	34.36%	419	9.09%	24	0.52%	999	21.67%	4,610
Putnam	10,858	50.54%	7,998	37.23%	2,473	11.51%	153	0.71%	2,860	13.31%	21,482
Rhea	4,289	41.45%	4,860	46.97%	1,163	11.24%	36	0.35%	-571	-5.52%	10,348
Roane	9,812	46.73%	8,719	41.52%	2,396	11.41%	72	0.34%	1,093	5.21%	20,999
Robertson	8,498	53.86%	5,271	33.41%	1,978	12.54%	32	0.20%	3,227	20.45%	15,779
Rutherford	21,084	44.73%	18,877	40.04%	7,005	14.86%	174	0.37%	2,207	4.69%	47,140
Scott	2,730	42.54%	3,011	46.91%	643	10.02%	34	0.53%	-281	-4.37%	6,418
Sequatchie	1,754	49.28%	1,381	38.80%	405	11.38%	19	0.53%	373	10.48%	3,559
Sevier	6,719	31.60%	11,714	55.08%	2,760	12.98%	73	0.34%	-4,995	-23.48%	21,266
Shelby	191,322	52.26%	153,310	41.88%	20,223	5.52%	1,255	0.34%	38,012	10.38%	366,110
Smith	5,061	71.85%	1,482	21.04%	486	6.90%	15	0.21%	3,579	50.81%	7,044
Stewart	2,779	64.28%	1,046	24.20%	487	11.27%	11	0.25%	1,733	40.08%	4,323
Sullivan	20,935	36.74%	28,801	50.55%	6,730	11.81%	514	0.90%	-7,866	-13.81%	56,980
Sumner	19,387	46.01%	17,401	41.30%	5,177	12.29%	167	0.40%	1,986	4.71%	42,132
Tipton	5,652	41.20%	6,757	49.26%	1,279	9.32%	29	0.21%	-1,105	-8.06%	13,717
Trousdale	1,846	69.29%	565	21.21%	243	9.12%	10	0.38%	1,281	48.08%	2,664
Unicoi	2,375	36.84%	3,344	51.87%	709	11.00%	19	0.29%	-969	-15.03%	6,447
Union	2,478	46.28%	2,274	42.47%	580	10.83%	22	0.41%	204	3.81%	5,354
Van Buren	1,329	63.89%	555	26.68%	191	9.18%	5	0.24%	774	37.21%	2,080
Warren	7,189	58.19%	3,704	29.98%	1,415	11.45%	47	0.38%	3,485	28.21%	12,355
Washington	13,071	36.84%	18,206	51.31%	4,002	11.28%	204	0.57%	-5,135	-14.47%	35,483
Wayne	1,868	35.47%	2,955	56.11%	424	8.05%	19	0.36%	-1,087	-20.64%	5,266
Weakley	5,691	47.95%	4,800	40.44%	1,355	11.42%	23	0.19%	891	7.51%	11,869
White	4,102	57.99%	2,118	29.94%	821	11.61%	33	0.47%	1,984	28.05%	7,074
Williamson	13,053	32.47%	22,015	54.77%	5,026	12.50%	101	0.25%	-8,962	-22.30%	40,195
Wilson	13,861	46.35%	12,061	40.33%	3,848	12.87%	133	0.44%	1,800	6.02%	29,903
Totals	933,521	47.08%	841,300	42.43%	199,968	10.09%	7,849	0.40%	92,221	4.65%	1,982,638

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Anderson
• Bedford
• Bledsoe
• Campbell
• Carroll
• Cheatham
• Claiborne
• Clay
• Coffee
• Crockett
• Davidson
• Decatur
• Dickson
• Dyer
• Fayette
• Fentress
• Gibson
• Hardeman
• Hardin
• Lauderdale
• Lawrence
• Lincoln
• Macon
• Marion
• Marshall
• Maury
• McNairy
• Meigs
• Montgomery
• Moore
• Morgan
• Obion
• Pickett
• Polk
• Putnam
• Roane
• Rutherford
• Sequatchie
• Shelby
• Sumner
• Union
• Weakley
• White
• Wilson

See also

• 1992 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee
• Presidency of Bill Clinton

Works cited

• Moreland, Laurence; Steed, Robert; Baker, Tod, eds. (1991). The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275931455.
• Steed, Robert; Moreland, Laurence; Baker, Tod, eds. (1994). The 1992 Presidential Election in the South: Current Patterns of Southern Party and Electoral Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0278635340.