T H E STAT E S

Republican Conventions Tennessee 58 Delegates And Tickets Since 1860 Safety Harbor Resort & Spa The Republican Party has twice before, in 1968 and 1972, held its 105 N. Bayshore Drive, Safety Harbor, 888-237-8772 quadrennial presidential nominating convention in Florida. Both times the meeting was held in Miami Beach, and both times the President Senate party picked Richard M. Nixon for president and Spiro T. Agnew (11 electoral votes) SAFE REPUBLICAN for vice president. Nixon and Agnew won both elections. Romney favored Mark Clayton, D vs. Bob Corker, R Nominee for Nominee for 2008 results: McCain 57%, Obama 42% Year Host city president vice president House (9 seats) 1860 Chicago Abraham Lincoln Hannibal Hamlin Democrat Republican 1864 Baltimore Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson 1868 Chicago Ulysses S. Grant Schuyler Colfax Safe (2) Safe (7) 1872 Philadelphia Ulysses S. Grant Henry Wilson 1876 Cincinnati Rutherford B. Hayes William A. Wheeler Tennessee has become an increasingly safe environment for Re- 1880 Chicago James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur publican candidates, and the last midterm election provided clear 1884 Chicago James G. Blaine John A. Logan evidence of that. Three House seats shifted to the GOP in the 2010 1888 Chicago Benjamin Harrison Levi P. Morton election, giving the party a lopsided majority of the delegation. In an 1892 Minneapolis Benjamin Harrison Whitelaw Reid earlier sign of GOP consolidation in the state, John McCain in 2008 won the state by a slightly greater margin than George W. Bush did 1896 St. Louis William McKinley Garret A. Hobart in his 2004 race against John Kerry. 1900 Philadelphia William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt The redistricted state map that Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed 1904 Chicago Theodore Roosevelt Charles W. Fairbanks will only reinforce the solid support Republicans are enjoying in the Volunteer State. 1908 Chicago William H. Taft James S. Sherman Tennessee has long joined other Southern states in providing a 1912 Chicago William H. Taft James S. Sherman* foundation for Republican presidential candidates. With its historic Nicholas Murray Butler GOP base in the hilly eastern part of the state, Tennessee, in fact, was 1916 Chicago Charles E. Hughes Charles W. Fairbanks in the region’s vanguard, going for Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower 1920 Chicago Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge twice in the 1950s even as Adlai Stevenson picked up other longtime Democratic states in the South. The state even rejected the 2000 1924 Cleveland Calvin Coolidge Charles G. Dawes Democratic presidential nominee, native son Al Gore, by 4 percentage 1928 Kansas City Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis points, a huge factor in Bush’s razor-thin Electoral College victory. 1932 Chicago Herbert Hoover Charles Curtis Despite a substantial Super Tuesday primary loss to former Penn- sylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney is thus still the heavy 1936 Cleveland Alfred M. Landon Frank Knox favorite to win Tennessee’s 11 electoral votes in November. Santorum 1940 Philadelphia Wendell L. Willkie Charles L. McNary received 37 percent of the vote, compared with Romney’s 28 percent. 1944 Chicago Thomas E. Dewey John W. Bricker In 2008, McCain, who had also lost his party’s primary, was able to 1948 Philadelphia Thomas E. Dewey Earl Warren amass 57 percent of the vote over Obama’s 42 percent. A Vanderbilt University poll of registered voters conducted in 1952 Chicago Dwight D. Eisenhower Richard Nixon May placed Romney ahead of Obama by a 7-point margin, 47 to 40 1956 San Francisco Dwight D. Eisenhower Richard Nixon percent. In describing the poll, John Geer, a political science professor 1960 Chicago Richard Nixon Henry Cabot Lodge at Vanderbilt, said, “It’s not that close a race . . . a lot of hard-core con- servatives are still getting used to the idea of Romney as the nominee.” 1964 San Francisco Barry Goldwater William E. Miller Says Geer: “Tennessee is clearly a red state.” 1968 Miami Beach Richard Nixon Spiro T. Agnew But optimistic Democrats have cited another portion of the poll 1972 Miami Beach Richard Nixon Spiro T. Agnew in which Tennessee residents, including those not registered to vote, 1976 Kansas City Gerald R. Ford Bob Dole were polled. They gave Obama a chance to win the state in November, as this survey showed 42 percent favoring Romney and 41 percent 1980 Detroit Ronald Reagan George Bush for Obama. 1984 Dallas Ronald Reagan George Bush Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and seven of Tennessee’s 1988 New Orleans George Bush Dan Quayle nine House members are Republican. Corker easily won his August primary, while freshman Republican Reps. Diane Black and Chuck 1992 Houston George Bush Dan Quayle Fleischmann both survived more challenging races. But Corker and 1996 San Diego Bob Dole Jack F. Kemp the GOP House members are all expected to be re-elected. The two 2000 Philadelphia George W. Bush Dick Cheney Tennessee Democrats in the House, Reps. Steve Cohen and Jim Coo- 2004 New York George W. Bush Dick Cheney per, should also win easily. Cohen and Cooper represent the state’s two major urban areas, Memphis and Nashville, respectively. 2008 Minneapolis John McCain Sarah Palin

*Sherman, who was nominated at the GOP convention, died on Oct. 30. The Republican National Committee selected Butler as his replacement.

1714 CQ WEEKLY | AUGUST 27, 2012 | www.cq.com

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