The 1836 United States presidential election was held from November 3 to November 8, 1836. In Tennessee, voters chose between the Democratic Party’s ticket of Martin Van Buren (president) and Richard Mentor Johnson (vice president) and the Whig Party’s regional candidate Hugh L. White (president) with John Tyler (vice president).
Election results in Tennessee
| Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Percentage | Electoral votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh L. White | Whig | ≈ 35,000 | ≈ 61.5 % | 15 |
| Martin Van Buren | Democratic | ≈ 22,000 | ≈ 38.5 % | 0 |
All of Tennessee’s 15 electors were chosen by popular vote and were pledged to Hugh L. White, giving the Whig candidate the state’s entire electoral delegation.
Context
- The 1836 election was the first in which the Whig Party fielded multiple regional candidates in an attempt to deny the Democratic nominee an outright electoral majority. Hugh L. White, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee, was the Whig’s nominee for the South.
- Tennessee’s electorate favored White, reflecting his regional popularity and the state’s growing opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson’s Democratic administration.
- Although White carried Tennessee, Martin Van Buren secured a national electoral majority and was elected the 8th President of the United States.
Sources
The vote totals and percentages are derived from contemporary state election returns and are reflected in standard historical compilations of U.S. presidential election data (e.g., the United States Congressional Serial Set and the American Presidency Project).
