 Prior to that year, the only times Nueces County did not vote for the "national" Democratic candidate was in its first presidential election in 1848 for Whig Zachary Taylor, and in 1860, supporting Southern Democratic John C. Breckinridge.Since Eisenhower's election, the only other Republicans to carry the county in the 20th century were Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.So far, Bill Clinton remains the last Democratic candidate to win Nueces County, having done so in 1996.