Tennessee 12th State Senate District, Tennessee: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+67%. Republican peak: R+67 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+67MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 219,7582024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,5122024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+14 in 1976MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 12, TNOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 15,828 | 82,257 | 99,005 | ||
| R | 16,447 | 75,048 | 92,800 | ||
| R | 14,430 | 59,745 | 76,614 | ||
| R | 20,185 | 51,840 | 73,084 | ||
| R | 26,632 | 53,323 | 81,424 | ||
| R | 33,206 | 47,381 | 81,072 | ||
| R | 34,912 | 36,252 | 72,206 | ||
| D | 31,964 | 26,846 | 64,148 | ||
| D | 35,726 | 27,441 | 70,247 | ||
| R | 21,992 | 31,557 | 53,810 | ||
| R | 23,479 | 34,461 | 58,308 | ||
| R | 24,004 | 32,414 | 57,665 | ||
| D | 30,048 | 22,688 | 53,184 | ||
| R | 10,719 | 27,287 | 38,824 | ||
| R | 11,347 | 21,418 | 43,465 | ||
| D | 22,657 | 20,738 | 43,396 | ||
| R | 16,618 | 26,794 | 43,834 | ||
| R | 15,273 | 24,727 | 40,455 | ||
| R | 14,514 | 24,018 | 38,602 | ||
| R | 12,290 | 15,505 | 28,592 | ||
| R | 10,005 | 15,687 | 25,809 | ||
| R | 13,588 | 14,127 | 27,849 | ||
| R | 11,628 | 13,478 | 25,260 | ||
| R | 11,073 | 12,052 | 23,430 | ||
| R | 4,884 | 15,972 | 20,924 | ||
| R | 6,079 | 12,036 | 19,145 | ||
| R | 7,442 | 19,019 | 26,564 | ||
| R | 5,867 | 10,394 | 16,640 | ||
| D | 5,595 | 4,451 | 15,429 | ||
| R | 5,382 | 11,143 | 16,892 | ||
| R | 4,398 | 9,224 | 13,991 | ||
| R | 5,619 | 11,050 | 16,954 | ||
| R | 5,947 | 12,219 | 18,419 | ||
| R | 5,073 | 8,198 | 14,457 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
15.9%
English
14.1%
Irish
10.1%
German
9.3%
Scottish
2.4%
Italian
1.9%
French
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 44.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$57,512
State Senate District 12 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 12$57,512
Tennessee$69,595
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
17.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.6%
Working age (18–64)16.2%
Seniors (65+)14.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.7%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+59.9, this district ranks among the most lopsided in Tennessee's state senate map, suggesting a rural or exurban constituency where statewide Republican candidates routinely run near-uncontested.
The Democratic margin in Tennessee 12th State Senate District peaked at fourteen points in 1976. By 2000 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $57,512 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 12, Tennessee. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/47012/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 12, Tennessee vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 12, Tennessee voted Republican by 67.1 points (R+67), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 99,005 votes cast, 15,828 went Democratic and 82,257 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 12, Tennessee's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 12, Tennessee as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 12, Tennessee last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 12, Tennessee voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in State Senate District 12, Tennessee?
State Senate District 12, Tennessee has a population of 219,758 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 12, Tennessee?
Median household income in State Senate District 12, Tennessee is $57,512 — below the national median of $80,734. The Tennessee state median is $69,595.
What is the political history of State Senate District 12, Tennessee?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 12, Tennessee from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.