Why did Mondale do so (comparatively) well in Tennessee?

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

This links to the 1984 map - Democratic share of the vote:

https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html


Every single state that borders Tennessee(and the entire South. Actually every state that was Bush in 2004, except in the NE) broke >60% for Reagan, but Mondale held Reagan under 60%.

Why is this?

[ElectionsGuy]

Reagan barely won Shelby and Davidson counties (50-49 and 52-47) and Reagan did poor in many of the rural baptist areas in western Tennessee. Of course he nailed down eastern Tennessee, but I'm guessing back then western Tennessee made up a bigger size of the population than now.

[Sol]

Blue dog support.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Mondale was a reasonable Democrat.  He would have governed the same way as Teddy Kennedy had it not been for his defeat to Carter. Mondale was tied to tax increases cause of he was always under Carter and less recognizable. Teddy Kennedy would of said the samething as Mondale and wouldn't been punished about taxes. His share of vote was left over from Blue dog support from Carter.

[Miles]

Looks like he did reasonably well in Memphis/western TN and didn't slip that much in the east. For some reason, the bottom fell out from under him in middle TN, as that area swung heavily R:

Swing:


Trend:


The state as a whole trended almost 8 points R, which was more than I expected just by looking at the map.

Kinda odd because within the past decade or so, middle TN was really the last rural region of the state to go Republican.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Reverse coattails from Al Gore, perhaps?

[MATTROSE94]

Mondale probably did somewhat decent in Tennesse due to residual support from Blue Dog Democrats and reverse coattails from Al Gore's successful Senate bid. What surprises me is how Reagan only recieved 70% of the vote in Sevier County, which previously gave Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon 85% of the vote.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Mondale was a reasonable Democrat.  He would have governed the same way as Teddy Kennedy had it not been for his defeat to Carter. Mondale was tied to tax increases cause of he was always under Carter and less recognizable. Teddy Kennedy would of said the samething as Mondale and wouldn't been punished about taxes. His share of vote was left over from Blue dog support from Carter.

If anything the Carter connection probably helped him.  Carter came close to winning the state in 1980.  Teddy Kennedy in 1984 would have sunk worse than Mondale in the South.

[ElectionsGuy]

Mondale probably did somewhat decent in Tennesse due to residual support from Blue Dog Democrats and reverse coattails from Al Gore's successful Senate bid. What surprises me is how Reagan only recieved 70% of the vote in Sevier County, which previously gave Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon 85% of the vote.

Its fascinating watching the rural white democratic counties disappear and the massive republican trend over the years.

1980:



Reagan: 48.7%
Carter: 48.4%

1984:



Reagan: 57.8%
Mondale: 41.6%

1988:



Bush: 57.9%
Dukakis: 41.5%

1992:





Clinton: 47.1%
Bush: 42.4%

1996:



Clinton: 48.0%
Dole: 45.6%

2000:



Bush: 51.1%
Gore: 47.3%

2004:



Bush: 56.8%
Kerry: 42.5%

2008:



McCain: 56.9%
Obama: 41.8%

2012:



Romney: 59.5%
Obama: 39.1%

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Could it be because the TVA was more important there?