Who won Tennessee in the 1896 presidential election?

Bryan (Democratic) carried Tennessee in 1896, winning its 12 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Tennessee have in 1896?

Tennessee cast 12 electoral votes in the 1896 presidential election.

Did Tennessee vote for the national winner in 1896?

No. Tennessee backed Bryan, while William McKinley won the presidency nationally.

Progressive EraTN · 12 EV

1896

Tennessee: Bryan carries 12 EV.

Tennessee cast its 12 electoral votes for Bryan (Democratic). National winner: William McKinley (Republican) — Tennessee voted against the national winner this cycle.

Tennessee in 1896

The 1896 contest saw Tennessee line up behind Bryan, delivering 12 electoral votes to the Democratic ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — William McKinley (Republican) won the presidency, leaving Tennessee among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 7th consecutive election in which Tennessee backed the Democratic party, a streak reaching back to 1872. Tennessee did not move alone — neighboring Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri broke the same way in 1896. Across the 57 presidential elections Tennessee has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (24 times). The vote fell within the Progressive Era — Trust-busting, suffrage, and World War I.

In the national count, William McKinley took 271 of the 447 electoral votes, against William Jennings Bryan's 176. William McKinley led the national popular vote with 51.02% of the ballots cast.

The 1896 national map

Tennessee full history →