Election Name: | 1984 United States Senate election in Tennessee |
Country: | Tennessee |
Type: | presidential |
Ongoing: | no |
Previous Election: | 1978 United States Senate election in Tennessee |
Previous Year: | 1978 |
Next Election: | 1990 United States Senate election in Tennessee |
Next Year: | 1990 |
Election Date: | November 6, 1984 |
Image1: | File:Sengore2.jpg |
Nominee1: | Al Gore |
Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
Popular Vote1: | 1,000,607 |
Percentage1: | 60.72% |
Nominee2: | Victor Ashe |
Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
Popular Vote2: | 557,016 |
Percentage2: | 33.80% |
Image3: | 3x4.svg |
Nominee3: | Ed McAteer |
Party3: | Independent |
Popular Vote3: | 87,234 |
Percentage3: | 5.29% |
Map Size: | 300px |
U.S. Senator | |
Before Election: | Howard Baker |
Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
After Election: | Al Gore |
After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1984 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 1984, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Popular three-term Republican incumbent Howard Baker, who had served as United States Senate Majority Leader since 1981 (Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981) decided not to seek re-election in order to concentrate on a planned bid for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination (which did not happen, as he later accepted a White House Chief of Staff position under President Ronald Reagan). This left the seat open.
In the general election, Democratic candidate Al Gore, son of former senator Albert Gore Sr., won easily, flipping the Republican held seat to Democratic hands.
Democrats nominated Representative and future Vice President of the United States Al Gore, whose father, Albert Gore, Sr., had once held Tennessee's other Senate seat.
In the primary, held on August 2, Ashe easily emerged as a winner.
Although the Senate election coincided with the landslide re-election of President Reagan, who carried Tennessee by a wide margin, this time his victory did not have any coattails, as it did in 1980, and Democrats picked up three Republican seats. One of the Democratic gains was in Tennessee, where conservative Democrat Gore won in a landslide:[1]