In the 21st century, when Tennessee is considered a lock for the Republican presidential candidate, Knoxville has only rarely seen presidential nominees campaigning here. It was different in former times; in most of the 19th and 20th centuries, an exception to the “Solid South,” Tennessee was usually an unpredictable swing state sought by both parties. Which of the following did NOT campaign for presidency in Knoxville?
A – Andrew Johnson
B – Teddy Roosevelt
C – Ronald Reagan
D – John Kennedy
Answer
A – Call it a trick question if you want to. From nearby Greene County, Johnson was frequently seen on Gay Street, exhorting crowds for the Union and other causes. However, succeeding Lincoln after his assassination, and later spurned by his own Democratic Party who nominated New Yorker Horatio Seymour, Johnson was never a presidential nominee.
