| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 3,527 | 5,793 | 9,399 | |
| 2020 | R | 4,180 | 5,760 | 10,063 | |
| 2016 | R | 4,185 | 4,919 | 9,273 | |
| 2012 | D | 5,482 | 4,865 | 10,439 | |
| 2008 | D | 5,919 | 5,225 | 11,237 | |
| 2004 | D | 5,685 | 4,704 | 10,466 | |
| 2000 | D | 4,953 | 3,729 | 8,803 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,859 | 2,961 | 8,231 | |
| 1992 | D | 4,832 | 3,122 | 8,627 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,526 | 3,547 | 7,138 | |
| 1984 | D | 3,797 | 3,712 | 7,626 | |
| 1980 | D | 4,153 | 2,931 | 7,205 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,934 | 2,254 | 6,270 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,550 | 3,494 | 5,294 | |
| 1968 | D | 1,709 | 1,171 | 5,804 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,675 | 2,450 | 5,125 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,711 | 1,601 | 3,604 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,754 | 818 | 3,353 | |
| 1952 | D | 2,747 | 1,256 | 4,029 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,609 | 317 | 3,300 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,949 | 444 | 2,400 | |
| 1940 | D | 2,549 | 319 | 2,875 | |
| 1936 | D | 1,869 | 157 | 2,029 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,377 | 281 | 2,680 | |
| 1928 | D | 1,453 | 491 | 1,961 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,586 | 254 | 1,897 | |
| 1920 | D | 2,212 | 895 | 3,130 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,724 | 485 | 2,216 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,323 | 320 | 1,915 | |
| 1908 | D | 1,568 | 553 | 2,168 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,903 | 986 | 2,977 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,974 | 1,336 | 3,322 | |
| 1896 | D | 2,234 | 1,427 | 3,708 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,940 | 789 | 3,237 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Hardeman County sits in Tennessee's cotton-belt west, with a population split roughly evenly between Black and white residents — an unusual demographic profile that has historically kept margins tighter here than in neighboring rural counties, though the gap has grown sharply in recent cycles.
The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached eighty-four points in 1936; the Republican margin reached thirty-seven points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Hardeman County's demographics — a population of 25,433, a 53% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $46,069 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Portage County and Mississippi County.