Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States, and is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,306 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Smith County, and perhaps best known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore and his father, Senator Albert Gore, Sr. The younger Gore announced his 1988 and 2000 presidential bids, as well as his 1992 vice-presidential bid, from the steps of the Smith County Courthouse.